Copenhagen:
Greenland is not for sale, the elected leader said on Monday, responding to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s remarks about “ownership and control” of the vast Arctic island that has been part of Denmark for more than 600 years. said.
“Greenland is ours. We are not and will not be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom,” the island’s Prime Minister Mute Egede said in written comments.
President Trump on Sunday announced the appointment of former special envoy to Sweden Ken Howley as ambassador to Copenhagen, commenting on the status of Greenland, a semi-autonomous region of Denmark and home to a large U.S. air base.
“For the sake of national security and freedom around the world, the United States feels that ownership and control of Greenland is absolutely necessary,” President Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20, did not elaborate on the statement.
Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister’s Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Danish government should clearly state that control of Greenland is not up for discussion or negotiation, opposition Conservative lawmaker Rasmus Jarlov said on social media X.
Jarlov, who chairs the parliamentary defense committee, said: “To the extent that US activities are aimed at seizing Danish territory, they must be prohibited and countered. Then they will never be there at all. I can’t.”
The island, whose capital Nuuk is closer to New York than Denmark’s capital Copenhagen, boasts mineral, oil and gas wealth. However, development is slow and the economy depends on fishing and annual subsidies from Denmark.
Greenland, where Pitafik Air Base is located, is strategically important to the U.S. military and its ballistic missile early warning system because the shortest route from Europe to North America is through the island.
President Trump expressed interest in purchasing Greenland in 2019 during his previous term, but the proposal was quickly rejected by Danish and Greenlandic authorities before formal consultations took place.
At the time, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen branded Trump’s proposal “ridiculous” and called his rejection of the proposal “terrible”, before canceling a trip to Copenhagen.
Mette Frederiksen will remain Prime Minister of Denmark.
Since 2009, Greenland has retained the right to declare independence from Denmark. The island, with a population of about 56,000, relies on large annual transfers from Copenhagen, but has so far refrained from doing so.
Separately on Sunday, President Trump threatened to reassert U.S. control over the Panama Canal, accusing Panama of charging exorbitant fees for use of the Central American route, and Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino. received a severe reprimand.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
