Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Tuesday Greenland It was made clear that it was not for sale, in response to US President-elect Donald Trump’s interest in purchasing the huge Arctic island.
Frederiksen said that Greenlandic Prime Minister Moti Egede has been very clear, and that there is a lot of support among the people of Greenland that Greenland is not for sale and will not be so in the future either.
The Danish leader’s comments come after Trump proposed buying Greenland from Denmark last month, describing US acquisition of the Arctic region as an “absolute necessity”, as he made the proposal in 2019 during his first term.
Mette Frederiksen stressed that America is not the one making the decision regarding ownership of the island of strategic importance in the Arctic.
Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., arrived in Greenland on Tuesday for a visit he described as private. But his entourage included conservative activist Charlie Kirk and Trump’s senior personnel director, Sergio Gore. Trump Sr. described them as his representatives.
“On the one hand, I’m really happy about the increased American interest in Greenland,” Frederiksen said in an interview on Tuesday with Danish broadcaster TV2. “But of course it is important that it happens in a way where the decision is in the hands of the Greenlanders, and what the future holds for them.”
Greenland, the largest island in the world with a population of about 60,000, was a Danish colony until it became self-governing and had its own parliament in 1979. Greenland remains a territory of Denmark, with Copenhagen exercising control over its foreign and defense policy.
As world powers seek to expand their reach and footprint in the Arctic, mineral-rich Greenland – which hosts a US military base – has become coveted for its strategic value in security and trade.
Frederiksen, who in 2019 called Trump’s attempt to buy the island “ridiculous,” said it was up to Greenlanders to decide their future, and described the growing independence movement on the island as “legitimate.”
“I can see a strong desire among many Greenlanders to move towards independence. It is legitimate, so I think it is important that the future of Greenland is shaped in the Greenlandic capital, Nuuk,” she said.
Under a 2009 agreement with Denmark, Greenland can only declare independence after a successful referendum – which its leader Egede appeared to hint, during his New Year’s speech, might be held in conjunction with the island’s next parliamentary elections in April.
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