WASHINGTON — President Trump said the United States will gain sovereignty over land in Greenland where American bases are located, taking ownership of those areas. “Yeah,” he told The Post in an exclusive Oval Office interview on Friday.

Greenland's strategic location makes it a focal point if there were to be a nuclear conflict involving Russia, China and the United States. U.S.

U.S. and European officials say they are unaware of any intelligence that shows China and Russia are endangering the island, which is protected by the NATO security umbrella.

The president's push to gain control of Greenland, a Danish territory, has created anxiety about the future of the alliance throughout Europe.

“It’s very disrespectful.”

During a speech Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, President Trump said that he would not use force to take Greenland, an island the State Department says the United States needs to control to counter threats in the surrounding Arctic sea by Russia and China.

President Trump on Wednesday sent a message to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, telling him that his country “lives because of the United States,” days after the prime minister defended Greenland against Trump’s effort to acquire the island territory.

"All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland, where we already had it as a trustee, but respectfully returned it back to Denmark not long ago," Trump said.