Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen on Monday warned that even though US President Donald Trump has ruled out military force, Washington still fundamentally seeks to control the Arctic island.
According to a Guardian report, citing a written statement published on the Greenlandic parliament’s website and reported in local media, Nielsen said the US view of Greenland “has not changed: Greenland should be attached to the United States and governed from there.”
“This has – not surprisingly – created great insecurity among us all. Some of our compatriots have severe sleep problems, children feel the worry and anxiety of adults, and we all live with constant uncertainty about what might happen in the future morning. From the side of the Government of Greenland, we want to say it very clearly: this is completely unacceptable,” said the Prime Minister.
Frederik-Nielsen added that “although it is directly about Greenland, this is also about the future of Nato, the protection of the western world and global democracy.”
He further warned, “If international laws and rules – not least national borders and national sovereignty – are not respected, great powers risk dividing the world, whereby freedom and self-determination will no longer exist.”
The prime minister emphasised the continued need for close cooperation with Denmark and other EU and Nato countries to respond to US interest in the region.
President Trump intensified calls for US control over Greenland at the beginning of the year, citing national security concerns related to Russia and China, which threatened to fracture the Nato alliance.
Trump has since backed away from threats of force and said he secured total US access to Greenland in a Nato deal, though details remain unclear.
With inputs from agencies
