Greenland’s leader says island ‘is ours’ in defiance of message from Trump

Greenland’s Prime Minister has declared “Greenland is ours” and cannot be taken or bought, in defiance of US President Donald Trump.

Mute Bourup Egede’s message follows Mr Trump’s claims that his administration supported the Arctic island’s right of self-determination – but added that the United States will acquire the territory “one way or another”.

Greenlandic Prime Minister Mr Egede said the island’s citizens are neither American nor Danish because they are Greenlandic.

The United States needs to understand that, he wrote in a post in Greenlandic and Danish on Facebook.

The future of Greenland will be decided by its people, Mr Egede added.

Direct appeal

His post came hours after Mr Trump made a direct appeal to Greenlanders in a speech to US Congress on Tuesday, a week before islanders head to the polls for parliamentary elections.

“We strongly support your right to determine your own future, and if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America,” Mr Trump said.

“We will keep you safe. We will make you rich. And together we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before,” he added.

But Mr Trump also said his administration was “working with everybody involved to try to get it”, referring to his wishes to acquire Greenland from Denmark – a long-standing US ally.

“We need it really for international world security. And I think we’re going to get it. One way or the other, we’re going to get it,” Mr Trump said.

Many in Greenland, a vast and mineral-rich island that is a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, are worried and offended by Mr Trump’s threats to seize control of their homeland.

Asked about Mr Trump’s comments, Denmark’s foreign minister said he did not think Greenlanders wanted to separate from Denmark in order to instead become “an integrated part of America”.

Optimism

Lars Lokke Rasmussen sought to strike an optimistic tone, saying he believed that Mr Trump’s reference to respecting Greenlanders’ right to self-determination was “the most important part of that speech”.

“I’m very optimistic about what will be a Greenlandic decision about this. They want to loosen their ties to Denmark, we’re working on that, to have a more equal relationship,” the minister said during a trip to Finland.

Mr Lokke added that it was important that next week’s parliamentary elections are free and fair “without any kind of international intervention”.

Greenlanders will head to the polls on Tuesday. Mr Trump’s recent comments about taking over the island have ignited unprecedented interest in full independence from Denmark, which has become a key issue during campaign season.