bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

Greenland’s prime minister said Tuesday the Danish autonomous territory wanted to stake out its own future and did not want to become American, following US President Donald Trump’s renewed remarks about taking control of the island.
Trump, who took office on Monday, set off alarm bells in early January by refusing to rule out military intervention to bring the Panama Canal and Greenland under US control.
While Trump did not mention Greenland in his inauguration speech on Monday, he was asked about it by reporters in the Oval Office afterwards.
“Greenland is a wonderful place, we need it for international security,” Trump responded.
“I’m sure that Denmark will come along – it’s costing them a lot of money to maintain it, to keep it,” he added.
But Greenlandic and Danish officials on Tuesday defended the Arctic island’s right to self-determination.

“We are Greenlanders. We don’t want to be Americans. We don’t want to be Danish either. Greenland’s future will be decided by Greenland,” Prime Minister Mute Egede told a press conference.
“Our country and our people will decide what happens to Greenland,” he said.
Noting that the country was facing a “difficult situation”, Egede reiterated that Nuuk was open to talks with Washington to safeguard US interests in the Arctic, at a time when rivalries with China and Russia in the region are growing.
The United States has an active military base in the northwest of Greenland, which has a strategic location in the Arctic as ice melts due to climate change and opens up new shipping lanes.
The world’s largest island – whose capital Nuuk is closer to New York than Copenhagen – also holds massive untapped mineral and oil reserves, although oil and uranium exploration are banned.
“We have cooperated with the US on security issues for more than 80 years,” Egede recalled.
He said officials were working to organise a meeting with the US “to explain Greenland’s position”.
Egede acknowledged that Trump’s recent remarks were “worrying” and had caused concern among Greenlanders.
“But it is important to remain calm.”


Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said earlier on Tuesday that no country should be able to simply help themselves to another country.
“Of course we can’t have a world order where countries, if they’re big enough, no matter what they’re called, can just help themselves to what they want,” Lokke told reporters.
Greenland is scheduled to call elections before April 6, where the question of independence is expected to top the agenda.
Economically, Greenland depends on subsidies from Copenhagen equivalent to a fifth of its GDP, and on its fishing sector.
Despite its autonomy, Copenhagen is in charge of judicial affairs, monetary policy, foreign affairs, defence and security policy in Greenland.
On Monday, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a post on social media that Europe would need to “navigate a new reality” with Trump as president.
While noting the Greenlandic people’s right to self-determination, the head of government also stressed the need for Denmark to maintain its alliance with the US – which she described as Denmark’s most important since World War II.
A number of Danish party leaders were called to the prime minister’s office on Tuesday to be briefed on the situation.
“We have to recognise that the next four years will be difficult years,” Pia Olsen Dyhr, leader of the Green Left, told reporters after meeting with Frederiksen.


Scott Bessent’s nomination as Trump’s Treasury chief clears Senate Finance Committee

As Trump begins his second term in the White House, an eerie feeling of deja vu

Greenland PM says ‘we don’t want to be Americans’ as Trump takes office

China’s vice-premier says chaotic competition on AI could bring ‘grey rhino’

Donald Trump

A Trump-branded plane arrives in Nuuk, Greenland, on January 7. Photo: AFP

Greenland’s Prime Minister Mute Egede holds a press conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, on January 10. Photo: EPA-EFE

Trump discusses Greenland interest in call with Denmark’s leader

The Wednesday call is the first time incoming US president Donald Trump and Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen have spoken since the US president-elect last week reiterated his plans to take over Greenland. Photo: AFP

Donald Trump Jnr got homeless Greenlanders to don Maga hats for free lunch, report says

A resident wearing a Maga hat stands in front of the Hotel Hans Egede during Donald Trump Jnr’s visit to Nuuk, Greenland, on Tuesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Residents wearing Maga hats stand in front of the Hotel Hans Egede during Donald Trump Jnr’s visit to Nuuk, Greenland, on Tuesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Trump’s threat to gobble up Greenland tests Nato unity, serves as wake-up call for Europe

Icebergs float behind the town of Kulusuk in Greenland. US president-elect Donald Trump has threatened to invade the Danish territory. Photo: AFP

Cargo ships wait to transit the Panama Canal in Panama City. Photo: AP

Citing China, Trump won’t rule out military use to reclaim Panama Canal, acquire Greenland

US president-elect Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at his private residence Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Tuesday. Photo: AP

A cargo ship traverses the Agua Clara Locks of the Panama Canal in Colon, Panama. File photo: AP

Why Greenland? Trump eyes remote but resource-rich geopolitical prize

Donald Trump Jnr made a private visit to Greenland on Tuesday as his father refused to rule out military action to take control of the autonomous Danish territory. Photo: AP

Large icebergs near Kulusuk, Greenland. File photo: AP

News

World

Europe

Diplomacy

Denmark’s foreign minister said that no country should be able to simply help themselves to another country


Denmark’s foreign minister said that no country should be able to simply help themselves to another country.
