The Prime Minister of Greenland said that his country would prefer to remain part of Denmark rather than become a US territory, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Jens-Frederik Nielsen expressed this position in connection with the efforts of US President Donald Trump to take control of the Arctic island.
The foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland - Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Vivian Motzfelt, will meet on Wednesday with US Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, after Trump recently stepped up his threats to take over the island, which is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
Greenland is not for sale and does not want to join the US, Nielsen said at a joint press conference with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in Copenhagen. "We are facing a geopolitical crisis and if we have to choose between the United States and Denmark... we will choose Denmark", the Greenlandic Prime Minister said. "We remain united with the Kingdom of Denmark", he added.
Frederiksen noted that it is difficult to oppose the United States, which is a member of NATO and has been Denmark's most important ally for decades. "But many things indicate that the hardest part is yet to come," the Danish Prime Minister added.
Denmark has ruled Greenland for centuries, but since 1979 the island has been slowly moving towards independence. This goal is shared by all political parties in the Greenlandic Parliament. It is not yet clear whether Nielsen's stance signals a change in that policy.
Trump has said Greenland is vital to U.S. security and should be owned by Washington to prevent Russia and China from occupying the strategically important and mineral-rich territory in the future. White House officials are discussing various options for placing Greenland under American control, including the possible use of military force or providing financial assistance to Greenlanders as part of an effort to persuade them to secede from Denmark.
The foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland have requested to meet with Rubio after Trump made new threats. "U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance also wanted to participate in the meeting and will host it, which is why it will be held at the White House," Rasmussen told reporters in Copenhagen earlier today.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Monday he expected alliance members to discuss next steps on Arctic security in the coming weeks amid pressure from Trump. "We all agree that when it comes to the Arctic, we have to work together," Rutte told a news conference in Brussels.
Danish Defense Minister Troels Lun Poulsen confirmed he would meet Rutte next week to discuss Arctic security. Pousslen will be accompanied by Greenland's foreign minister.
Meanwhile, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters in Berlin that "any action by U.S. President Donald Trump to take control of Greenland would be an unprecedented situation for NATO," Reuters reported. "The least we can say is that this would be a truly unprecedented situation in the history of NATO and in the history of any defense alliance in the world," Pistorius stressed.