After US President-elect Donald Trump has expressed his desire to acquire Greenland, Prime Minister of Greenland has responded by agreeing to hold talks with him. PM Múte Egede has, however, clarified that he has no intention of ceding the Greenlandic territory to the United States of America. He said that he wants to talk with Trump regarding the future of the Arctic Island.
Although geographically Greenland is part of the continent of North America, administratively it is a semi-autonomous territory of the European nation Denmark. Greenland is also part of the Overseas Countries and Territories of the European Union. However, the people of Greenland wish to be an independent nation and don’t want to remain a colony of Denmark.
Addressing the media on Friday in Copenhagen, Denmark, Egede made his stand clear by saying that the people of Greenland want to remain Greenlandic. “We don’t want to be Danes. We don’t want to be Americans. We want to be Greenlandic, of course. It’s the Greenlandic people who decide their future”, he said. “ We have a desire for independence, a desire to be the master of our own house…this is something everyone should respect”, he added.
NEW: Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede says he is ready to speak with Donald Trump as he calls for independence from Denmark.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 11, 2025
Egede said his people didn’t want to be Americans but said it was ultimately up to them to decide their future.
“We are ready to talk [with… pic.twitter.com/2UuvX8m6Jg
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who was also present at the press conference, supported Egede’s statement and said that island will remain independent and will not be sold in future. Greenland has a population of about 57,000. The mineral-rich country was a Danish colony till 1953. In 2009, it acquired the right to seek independence through a referendum. It is now a self-governing territory of Denmark.
As per a report by Axios, Denmark has also sent a message to Donald Trump’s team expressing willingness to meet and talk about boosting security in Greenland or increasing the U.S. military presence on the island, without becoming a part of the USA. The Danish government made it clear that Greenland is not for sale, but is willing to discuss any US request regarding the island, including increasing military presence.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said earlier this week that she had asked for a meeting with Trump. The Danish govt wants to convince Trump that his security concerns in the Arctic can be resolved without merging Greenland with the USA.
Donald Trump who is set to take oath as 47th US President on January 20, has said that the acquisition of Greenland was an ‘absolute necessity’ for national security for the US. In his post on Truth Social in December last year, Trump announced that Ken Howery, co-founder of PayPal, would serve as the ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark. “For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity”, he wrote.
This is not the first time Trump has expressed his desire to acquire Greenland. He had expressed a similar intention back in 2019 when he said that he would purchase Greenland from Denmark. At that time also, Trump’s statement met with a similar response from the Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen who said that the country was not for sale and Greenland does not even belong to Denmark, it belongs to itself.