Greenland’s five political parties joined together to send a clear message to President Donald Trump on Friday, issuing a joint statement that rejected his increasingly aggressive attempts to acquire the island for the United States.
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“We do not want to be Americans, we do not want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders,” the statement said, signed by the leaders of the five political parties, including Greenland’s prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen. “The future of Greenland must be decided by the Greenlandic people.”
The move comes after Trump continued to press for U.S. takeover of Greenland—currently an autonomous part of the Kingdom of Denmark—this week, telling reporters on Friday: “We are going to do something on Greenland whether they like it or not.”
Read More: Why Is Trump So Intent on Acquiring Greenland?
The leaders of the country’s five political parties appeared to push back on Trump’s remarks: “We would like to emphasize once again our desire for the U.S.’s disdain for our country to end.” They added that the country’s parliament, the Inatsisartut, would bring forward a meeting to debate the U.S. threats.
Trump has long had his eyes set on acquiring the Arctic island for the U.S., but he has grown more insistent in his second term, casting it as a national security priority amid increasing competition in the region with Russia and China.
“Because if we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor,” Trump continued Friday in the White House. “I would like to make a deal the easy way, but if we don’t do it the easy way, we will do it the hard way.”
Trump has revived his calls to control Greenland in the aftermath of the shocking capture of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro and subsequent announcement that the U.S. would seize and sell oil from the nation, which boasts the world’s largest oil reserves.
Similar to Venezuela, Greenland holds natural resources that Trump and the United States want: the island is home to 25 of the 34 minerals categorized as “critical raw materials” by the European Commission, and is also believed to be rich in oil. Some of these minerals, necessary in AI microchips, advanced technology and military use, have been at the center of the U.S. trade war with China.
European leaders have become increasingly vocal in warning Trump against invading the island home to 57,000 people.
A joint statement of support for Denmark came from six European countries— the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Spain—on Tuesday, arguing that security in the Arctic must be ensured “collectively.”
“Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland,” the statement concluded.
European Union Council President Antonio Costa said on Wednesday that Greenland has “full support and solidarity of the European Union,” as European nations lobby in Washington.
Meanwhile, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that the U.S. taking control of Greenland militarily could mean the end of NATO.
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