Greenland says it should be defended by NATO

STOCKHOLM, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Greenland's government said on Monday it ​will increase its efforts to ‌ensure that the defence of the Arctic ‌territory takes place under the auspices of NATO, and again rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's ambition ⁠to take ‌over the island.

Trump has said the United States must ‍own Greenland, an autonomous part of the Kingdom of Denmark, to prevent ​Russia or China occupying the ‌strategically located and minerals-rich territory in the future.

"All NATO member states, including the United States, have a common interest in the defence ⁠of Greenland," the ​island's coalition government ​said in a statement.

The European Union's Commissioner for Defence and ‍Space Andrius ⁠Kubilius warned on Monday that a U.S. military takeover of ⁠Greenland would be the end of ‌NATO.

(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom, editing ‌by Terje Solsvik)