Greenland, Denmark reject Washington's hospital ship

COPENHAGEN — Denmark and Greenland on Sunday rejected US President Donald Trump's offer to send a naval hospital ship to the Arctic island coveted by the US leader.

A day earlier, the president said he was sending "a great hospital boat to Greenland to take care of the many people who are sick, and not being taken care of there".

But Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, who heads the autonomous territory's government, wrote on his Facebook page: "That will be 'no thanks' from us."

"President Trump's idea to send a US hospital ship here to Greenland has been duly noted. But we have a public health system where care is free for citizens," he said.

"This is not the case in the United States, where going to the doctor costs money."

Danish Minister of Defence Troels Lund Poulsen likewise told Danish broadcaster DR: "The Greenlandic population receives the healthcare it needs. They receive it either in Greenland, or, if they require specialized treatment, they receive it in Denmark."

He added: "It's not as if there's a need for a special healthcare initiative in Greenland."

On the day that Trump made his proposal, Danish forces evacuated a crew member of a US submarine off the coast of Greenland's capital Nuuk after the sailor requested urgent medical attention.

Denmark's Joint Arctic Command said in a post on Facebook that the crew member was flown to a hospital in Nuuk after an unspecified medical emergency on board the vessel.

There are five regional hospitals across Greenland, with the one in the capital Nuuk, serving patients from all over the territory.

Trump, in his Truth Social message on Saturday about the hospital ship, posted an AI-generated image of a US Navy medical vessel, USNS Mercy.

"It's on the way!!!" he added.

It was not immediately clear if that meant he was deploying that ship to Greenland.

The US president indicated the deployment was being carried out in coordination with Jeff Landry, appointed in December as the US special envoy to the island.

Aaja Chemnitz, who represents Greenland in the Danish Parliament, wrote on Facebook that, while Greenland's health system had its share of problems, they were best resolved through cooperation with Denmark.

Agencies via Xinhua