Greenland’s political leaders, on Jan. 9, pushed back on U.S. President Donald Trump’s talk of a territorial takeover, saying that the fate of the island must be decided by its native inhabitants.
“We don’t want to be Americans, we don’t want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders,” Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and leaders of Greenland’s other political parties wrote on Friday.
At present, Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark.
Signing onto the Friday press statement were Naleraq party leader Pele Broberg, Inuit Ataqatigiit party leader Múte B. Egede, Siumut party leader Aleka Hammond, and Atassut party leader Aqqalu Jeremiassen. Nielsen leads the island’s Demokraatit party.
After Greenland’s March 2025 election, the Demokraatit, Inuit Ataqatigiit, Siumut, and Atassut parties formed a governing coalition with a platform supporting a moderate path to independence from Denmark. The Naleraq party, by contrast, has pursued a more immediate push for independence.
“The future of Greenland must be decided by the Greenlandic people. The work on the future of Greenland is done in dialogue with the Greenlandic people and is prepared based on international laws and the Self-Government Act. No other country can interfere in this,” the statement from Greenland’s political leaders continued.
Greenland’s political leaders issued the statement in response to growing talk from Trump of a U.S. takeover of the island after U.S. forces snatched up Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from a fortified compound in Caracas and transported him to the United States to face drug trafficking charges.
Trump has said that Greenland is key to U.S. national security and that it has been surrounded by ships from hostile countries such as Russia and China.
At a Jan. 7 press briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump would not rule out the use of military force to acquire Greenland.
“That’s not something this president does. All options are always on the table for President Trump,” Leavitt said.
Nielsen has previously expressed concern at the Trump administration linking its desire for control of Greenland so closely with the Jan. 3 U.S. assault on Caracas.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has also argued that there should be no need for a U.S. takeover of Greenland, as the island territory already falls under the protection of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The United States and Denmark are both NATO members.
Some U.S. lawmakers have warmed to the idea of the United States purchasing Greenland from Denmark. But during a meeting with oil industry representatives on Friday, Trump indicated a desire for more immediate action.
“I’m not talking about money for Greenland yet. I might talk about that, but right now we are going to do something on Greenland whether they like it or not,” Trump said.
The U.S. president left open the possibility of a deal to acquire Greenland, but said, “If we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way.”
Rubio is set to meet with Danish leaders next week to discuss the matter further.
Friends Read Free
Copy
Facebook
Tweet
