In Response To Trump’s Threats, Greenland's Prime Minister Said "We Choose Denmark" Over The US
“Greenland does not want to be owned by the USA. Greenland does not want to be governed by the USA. Greenland will not be part of the USA. We choose the Greenland we know today, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark,”
Greenland’s prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen has said Greenland would choose Denmark over the US if it had to make a choice.
His comments come after US president Donald Trump renewed his threats to annex the autonomous territory of Denmark.
On Jan. 4, Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he wanted to annex Greenland not for minerals but that the US needs Greenland “from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it.”
“You know what Denmark did recently to boost up security on Greenland?” Trump joked. “They added one more dog sled.”
In response, Denmark's prime minister Mette Frederiksen warned Trump to “stop his threats,” adding that it could lead to the end of NATO.
On Jan. 9, Trump repeated his threats, saying the US needs to "own" Greenland to defend against Russia and China.
In a joint press conference with Frederiksen on Tuesday, Jan. 13, Nielsen said that Greenland is not for sale and that if it had to, it would choose Denmark.
“Greenland does not want to be owned by the USA. Greenland does not want to be governed by the USA. Greenland will not be part of the USA. We choose the Greenland we know today, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark,” Nielsen said.
“It is about not being able to change borders by force, not being able to buy another people, and it is about small countries not having to fear big countries,” Frederiksen added.
The joint press conference came one day before Denmark’s foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt had a meeting with US vice president JD Vance and secretary of state Marco Rubio to discuss Trump’s threats.
Rasmussen said the meeting ended with "fundamental disagreement" due to Trump insisting on "conquering" Greenland, which was "totally unacceptable."
Flavie Chen
Isha Jain
