Greenland’s newly elected Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the US will not “get” the Arctic territory.
“We do not belong to anyone else,” Nielsen wrote on Facebook, adding the island’s population “determines” its own future.
This comes as US President has repeatedly voiced interest in making Greenland a US territory, saying that US ownership of the landmass is key to national as well as global security.
Greenland is the world’s largest island and is seen as strategically important because of its mineral wealth and Arctic location.
It is an autonomous territory of Denmark, a US ally and fellow member of NATO.
Denmark not pleased with US VP’s remarks
An uninvited visit by a US delegation, including Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha, to Greenland angered local leaders and Danish politicians this week.
While visiting a US space base on the island, Vance claimed Denmark had “under invested” in the security of Greenland. Denmark’s foreign minister then hit back, saying he did not appreciate Vance’s “tone.”
Trump, meanwhile, reiterated his interest in taking control of the island. “We’ll get Greenland. 100%,” Trump told NBC News Sunday.
According to Nielsen, Greenland only belongs to the people living in it, adding that this must be made clear to the US President.
“That’s how it was yesterday, that’s how it is today, and that’s how it will be in the future,” he said.
The center-right Demokraatit party, with Nielsen at its head, won the March 11 election, with the campaign being shadowed by Trump’s Greenland threats.
Most parties form coalition
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen plans to travel to the island on Wednesday in a bid to strengthen Copenhagen’s ties with the island.
While most of Greenland’s main parties want independence, they disagree on the way to achieve it.
represented in Greenland’s parliament have agreed to join Nielsen’s coalition as American pressure convinced them to form a coalition as quickly as possible.
Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru
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