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As Donald Trump pushes for his claim on Greenland, the self-governed Danish territory has made it very clear that it does not want to join the United States.
Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, in a strongly-worded statement, said that the region would not join the US and would any day prefer Denmark. "We face a geopolitical crisis, and if we have to choose between the US and Denmark here and now, then we choose Denmark. We choose NATO. We choose the Kingdom of Denmark. We choose the EU," the Greenland PM said., Nielsen’s remarks came a day after the Greenland government formally rejected threats by US President Donald Trump to take over the Arctic territory.
In a statement, Greenland’s coalition government said it would not accept any attempt by the United States to seize control of the island.
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“The United States has once again reiterated its desire to take over Greenland. This is something that the governing coalition in Greenland cannot accept under any circumstance,” the coalition government said.
The government stressed that Greenland’s security falls under NATO, as part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
“As part of the Danish commonwealth, Greenland is a member of NATO, and the defence of Greenland must therefore be through NATO,” it added.
Trump has repeatedly insisted that he would bring Greenland under US control, warning that the territory would be taken “one way or another”.
These comments have triggered a crisis within NATO and drawn strong reactions from European allies, who have warned that any attempt to take over Greenland would severely damage relations between the United States and Europe.
Amid the rising tensions, US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are set to meet the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland at the White House on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Greenlandic leaders have underlined that there is little public support for joining the United States.
Aaja Chemnitz, a Greenlandic politician in the Danish parliament, told Al Jazeera that most of Greenland’s 56,000 residents do not want to become US citizens.
“Greenland is not for sale, and Greenland will never be for sale,” said Chemnitz, who belongs to the Inuit Ataqatigiit party.
She said Greenland’s identity cannot be bought.
“People seem to think they can buy the Greenlandic soul. It is our identity, our language, our culture – and it would look completely different if you became an American citizen, and that is not something a majority in Greenland want.”
