Greenland is not for sale, its elected leader said Monday, responding to comments made by US President-elect Donald Trump regarding “ownership and control” of the vast Arctic island, which has been part of Denmark for more than 600 years. Used to be.
“Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for independence,” the island’s Prime Minister Mute Egede said in a written comment.
Trump announced on Sunday that he had chosen former ambassador to Sweden Ken Howery as his ambassador to Copenhagen, and commented on the situation in Greenland, a semi-autonomous part of Denmark and home to a large US Air Force base. Hosts.
“For purposes of national security and liberty around the world, the United States feels that ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Donald Trump, who took office on January 20, did not elaborate on the statement.
Denmark’s Foreign Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office were not immediately available for comment.
Rasmus Jarlov, a member of parliament from the opposition Conservative Party, said on the social media platform X that the Danish government should say in clear words that control over Greenland is not a topic for discussion or negotiation.
Jarlov, head of the parliament’s defense committee, said, “To the extent that American activities are aimed at taking control of Danish territory, they must be restricted and countered. Then they cannot be there at all.”
The island, whose capital Nuuk is closer to New York than the Danish capital Copenhagen, boasts mineral, oil and natural gas wealth. But growth has been slow, leaving its economy dependent on fishing and annual subsidies from Denmark.
With its Pitufik Airport, Greenland is strategically important for the US military and its ballistic missile early-warning system, as the shortest route from Europe to North America passes through the island.
During his previous term in office, Trump had expressed interest in purchasing Greenland in 2019, but the proposal was quickly rejected by Denmark as well as the island’s own officials before any formal discussions could take place.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen described Trump’s offer as “absurd” at the time, leading to her calling Trump’s idea “bad” and later canceling a trip to Copenhagen.
Mette Frederiksen remains in the role of Danish Prime Minister.
Since 2009, Greenland has had the right to declare independence from Denmark. The island of about 56,000 residents, which depends on significant budget transfers from Copenhagen each year, has so far refrained from doing so.
Separately on Sunday, Trump threatened to reassert US control over the Panama Canal, accused Panama of charging excessive rates to use the Central American route and drew a sharp rebuke from Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino.
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