By Stine Jacobsen and Soren Jeppesen
COPENHAGEN, Jan 13 (Reuters) – Greenland’s prime minister said on Tuesday his nation would rather remain part of Denmark than become a territory of the United States, amid President Donald Trump’s push to take control of the Arctic island.
The Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers will meet U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday after Trump recently stepped up threats to take over Greenland, an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
But Greenland was not for sale and did not want to join the U.S., the island’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen told a joint press conference in Copenhagen with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
“We face a geopolitical crisis, and if we have to choose between the U.S. and Denmark here and now then we choose Denmark,” Nielsen said. “We stand united in the Kingdom of Denmark.”
MOVING TOWARDS INDEPENDENCE
While Denmark has ruled Greenland for centuries, the territory has gradually been moving towards independence since 1979, a goal shared by all political parties elected to the island’s parliament.
It was not immediately clear if Tuesday’s statement signalled a permanent shift of policy.
Trump has said Greenland is vital to U.S. security and the United States must own it to prevent Russia or China occupying the strategically located and minerals-rich territory in the future.
White House officials have been discussing various plans to bring Greenland under U.S. control, including potential use of the U.S. military and lump sum payments to Greenlanders as part of a bid to convince them to secede from Denmark.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt, had requested a meeting with Rubio after Trump’s threats.
“U.S. Vice President JD Vance also wanted to participate in the meeting, and he will host the meeting, which will therefore be held at the White House,” Rasmussen told reporters in Copenhagen earlier on Tuesday.
“Our reason for seeking the meeting we have now been given was to move this whole discussion… into a meeting room where we can look each other in the eye and talk about these things,” he added.
‘THE HARDEST PART IS AHEAD’
Denmark’s prime minister said it was difficult to stand up to the U.S., a fellow NATO member and the country’s most important ally for many decades.
“But much suggests that the hardest part is now ahead of us,” Frederiksen told reporters.
Trump first floated the idea of a U.S. takeover of Greenland in 2019 during his first term in office, although he faces opposition in Washington, including from within his own party.
Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said he would participate in a meeting with the NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Brussels on Monday next week to discuss Arctic security, along with Greenland’s Motzfeldt.
Denmark planned a larger military presence in Greenland, with other NATO countries participating in exercises and training in 2026, the defence minister said.
“It has been a Danish priority over the past several years to have a discussion within NATO, but not least to also get greater attention from NATO in relation to issues regarding NATO’s presence in and around the Arctic,” Poulsen said.
(Reporting by Soren Jeppesen and Stine Jacobsen, editing by Terje Solsvik and Alex Richardson)
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.