Copenhagen, Jan 13, (dpa/GNA) – Greenland’s prime minister made it crystal clear on Tuesday, that his people in no way want to become part of the United States under any circumstances.
“If we have to choose between the USA and Denmark, then we choose Denmark,” Jens-Frederik Nielsen said at a joint press conference with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in Copenhagen.
Frederiksen stressed that it had not been easy to withstand the “completely unacceptable pressure from our closest allies.”
You cannot move borders by force and you cannot buy a population, she said.
“The hardest part is still ahead of us,” she warned.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen is due to meet US Vice President JD Vance and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Wednesday, to discuss US claims to the autonomously governed island, which belongs to Denmark.
Greenland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Vivian Motzfeldt, is also expected to attend the meeting.
Whether the direct talks will bring any easing of tensions is unclear. The situation is very serious and the pressure on the Greenlandic population is extremely high, Nielsen said.
However, Greenland stands with Denmark and the two countries will go into he Washington talks together – and also leave together.
US President Donald Trump has in recent days again threatened to annex Greenland, citing national security interests. He recently made it clear that he is seeking long-term ownership of the Arctic island.
“Ownership is very important,” Trump, a real estate mogul, told the New York Times last week.
Denmark and Greenland have been vigorously rejecting Trump’s ownership claims for weeks, with the support of numerous European partners, including Germany.
GNA