ANKARA, July 8 - Denmark is ready to defend every inch of NATO, including the kingdom of Denmark, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in Ankara on Wednesday, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated that Greenland should be controlled by the U.S.

Trump's assertions that the U.S. must acquire or control Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, have long strained relations between Washington and Copenhagen — both founding NATO members — and more broadly U.S. ties with Europe. The issue has since moved to a diplomatic track.

"We are ready to defend every inch of NATO, including our own territory ... Of course we will defend the kingdom of Denmark," Frederiksen said, reiterating that Greenland was not for sale.

"One of the reasons why we have built NATO many, many years ago, is if anything happens to one of us, then everybody should stand up for each other," she said. REUTERS

Denmark ready to defend 'every inch of NATO', including Danish kingdom, PM says