Denmark will not abandon Greenland to the United States, Danish Prime Minister Mette Fredericksen said during his official visit to the Arctic Island.
In response to repeated threats from Donald Trump, Fredericksen offered close security cooperation, but told the US president that he “cannot annex other countries.”
Fredericksen was standing with Greenland Prime Minister Jens Frederick Nielsen and his predecessor Mute Eged in the face of the US threat on Thursday.
Her three-day trip to the territory was widely criticized in both Greenland and Denmark following a controversial visit by a US delegation led by Vice President JD Vance last week.
During the whirlwind trip, Vance reiterated Trump’s ambitions to put Greenland under US control for security reasons, criticising Denmark for not spending more on local security, claiming he “doesn’t do a good job” for Greenlander.
On Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Danish Foreign Minister Lars Rocke Rasmussen in Brussels, where he “reaffirmed strong ties” between the United States and Denmark, the US Department of State said in a statement.
Rasmussen added that Rubio has granted Greenland’s right to self-determination, but that Denmark opposes “any claims relating to Greenland,” Reuters reported.
After arriving in Greenland on Wednesday, Fredericksen said:
Fredericksen said on Thursday that Denmark is strengthening its military presence in the Arctic Circle and that it has provided close cooperation with the United States to protect the region.
However, she added:
Fredericksen ran around the capital Nuk with Egede and Nielsen on a Danish Navy patrol boat.
According to the Danish public broadcaster, many people cheered at the Danish prime minister. One resident cried out the window.
Egede, who served as prime minister for almost four years, said the island had been working with the United States for almost 80 years, including the construction of the Pitafik Space Station following the 1951 Denmark-US agreement.
The former leader claimed that Greenland was not for sale, but the island wanted trade with the United States, Greenland’s national newspaper, Selmitz Island, reported.
Trump first came to mind the idea of buying Greenland first – and his desire to own the island grew over time.
“It’s very important and I feel very relieved that Greenlander will see the Danish government head,” Arctic expert Michaela Engel, who previously served as the high commissioner for Greenland, Denmark, told AFP news agency.
Greenland – the world’s largest island between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans – has been ruled by approximately 3,000 km (1,860 miles) of Denmark for about 300 years.
While Greenland governs its own domestic issues, decisions regarding foreign and defence policies will be made in Copenhagen.
Five of the six major parties support independence from Copenhagen, but oppose the pace at which they reach it.
A new Greenland Union government was established in March and was led by the Central Right Democrats, who support a gradual approach to independence.
Polls show that the majority of Greenlanders also want to become independent from Denmark, but do not want to become part of the United States.
Since 2009, Greenland had the right to call an independence referendum, but in recent years some political parties have begun to push further.
