Leaders vow US will not take over Greenland after Trump appoints envoy

The leaders of Denmark and Greenland have insisted that the US will not take over Greenland and demanded respect for their territorial integrity after President Donald Trump announced the appointment of a special envoy to Greenland.

Mr Trump’s announcement on Sunday that Louisiana governor Jeff Landry would be the US special envoy prompted a new flare-up of tensions over Washington’s interest in the vast, semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, a Nato ally.

Denmark’s foreign minister said in comments to Danish broadcasters that he plans to summon the US ambassador.

”We have said it before. Now, we say it again,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her Greenlandic counterpart, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said in a joint statement.

“National borders and the sovereignty of states are rooted in international law. They are fundamental principles.

“You cannot annex another country. Not even with an argument about international security.

“Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders and the US shall not take over Greenland,” they added in the statement, emailed by Ms Frederiksen’s office.

“We expect respect for our joint territorial integrity.”

Mr Trump called repeatedly during his presidential transition and the early months of his second term for US jurisdiction over Greenland, and has not ruled out military force to take control of the mineral-rich, strategically located Arctic island.

In March, vice president JD Vance visited a remote US military base in Greenland and accused Denmark of underinvesting there.

The issue gradually drifted out of the headlines, but in August, Danish officials summoned the US ambassador following a report that at least three people with connections to Mr Trump had carried out covert influence operations in Greenland.

On Sunday, Mr Trump announced Mr Landry’s appointment as special envoy, saying that “Jeff understands how essential Greenland is to our National Security, and will strongly advance our Country’s Interests for the Safety, Security, and Survival of our Allies, and indeed, the World”.

Mr Landry wrote in a post on X that “it’s an honour to serve you in this volunteer position to make Greenland a part of the US”.

Territorial integrity 

Danish foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said in a brief statement that “the appointment confirms the continued American interest in Greenland”.

“However, we insist that everyone — including the US — must show respect for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark,” he added.

Danish broadcasters TV2 and DR reported that in comments from the Faroe Islands later on Monday, Mr Lokke Rasmussen said he will call in the US ambassador in Copenhagen, Kenneth Howery, for a meeting at the ministry.

Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, wrote on Facebook that the country had again woken up to a new announcement from the US president, but it “does not change anything for us at home”.

Mr Nielsen wrote that “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders, and its territorial integrity must be respected”.

He said that the territory is happy to cooperate with other nations, but that must always be done with respect for Greenlanders and their values and wishes.

Earlier this month, the Danish Defence Intelligence Service said in an annual report that the US is using its economic power to “assert its will” and threaten military force against friend and foe alike.