Greenland’s party leaders rejected President Trump’s repeated calls for the U.S. to take control of the island, saying that Greenland’s future must be decided by its people.
“We don’t want to be Americans, we don’t want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders,” Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and four party leaders said in a statement Friday night.
Mr. Trump reiterated on Friday that he would like to make a deal to acquire Greenland, a semi-autonomous region that’s part of NATO ally Denmark, “the easy way.” He said that if the U.S. doesn’t own it, then Russia or China will take it over, and the U.S. does not want them as neighbors. NATO allies and Greenland have disagreed with Mr. Trump’s assessment.
“If we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way,” Mr. Trump said, without explaining what that entailed. The White House stated that it is considering a range of options, including the use of military force, to acquire the island. U.S. Senator Rand Paul told CBS Mornings earlier this week that he “will do everything to stop any kind of military takeover of Greenland.”
Greenland’s party leaders reiterated that “Greenland’s future must be decided by the Greenlandic people.”
“As Greenlandic party leaders, we would like to emphasize once again our wish that the United States’ contempt for our country ends,” the statement said.
Officials from Denmark, Greenland and the U.S. met Thursday in Washington and will meet again next week to discuss the renewed push by the White House for control of the island.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that an American takeover of Greenland would mark the end of NATO.
The party leaders’ statement said that “the work on Greenland’s future takes place in dialogue with the Greenlandic people and is prepared on the basis of international laws.”
“No other country can interfere in this,” they said. “We must decide the future of our country ourselves, without pressure for quick decision, delay or interference from other countries.”
The statement was signed by Nielsen, Pele Broberg, Múte B. Egede, Aleqa Hammond and Aqqalu C. Jerimiassen.
Potter Pilu Chemnitz told CBS News partner BBC News that Greenlanders “are all very tired of the U.S. president” and “just want to be left alone.”
Eighty-five percent of Greenlanders say they oppose a takeover by the U.S., the BBC reported. Most also say they favor independence from Denmark, though the Nordic country provides subsidies, military support and more for the autonomous territory.
While Greenland is the largest island in the world, it has a population of around 57,000 and doesn’t have its own military. Defense is provided by Denmark, whose military is dwarfed by that of the U.S.
It’s unclear how the remaining NATO members would respond if the U.S. decided to forcibly take control of the island or if they would come to Denmark’s aid. Former Danish ambassador to NATO Michael Zilmer-Johns called Mr. Trump’s ambitions “an affront to an ally that has stood up with the U.S. in Afghanistan, in Iraq, all over the world.”