Greenland is « not for sale, » said its Prime Minister on Monday, responding to a remark by Donald Trump regarding the sovereignty of this autonomous territory of Denmark, which had already been a point of interest for the future U.S. president during his first term.
« For national security and freedom in the world, the United States believes that ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity, » the Republican wrote on Sunday on his Truth Social platform, without clarifying what he meant by that.
These statements echo those made in 2019. Donald Trump, then president, had openly considered purchasing this Arctic territory, referring to it as a « big real estate deal » that would be « strategically interesting. »
The matter led to a diplomatic crisis with Denmark, a NATO member, which governs the icy territory, four times the size of France.
« Greenland is ours, » responded Mute Egede on Monday, the day after Donald Trump’s message.
« We are not for sale, and we never will be. We will not abandon our long fight for freedom, » he wrote on Facebook. « But we must remain open to cooperation and international trade, particularly with our neighbors, » added the Greenlandic Prime Minister.
Trump’s statement on Sunday came with the announcement of his upcoming ambassador to Copenhagen, Ken Howery, former U.S. ambassador to Sweden, financier, and co-founder of PayPal.
Earlier in the weekend, the former and future U.S. president had threatened to take back control of the Panama Canal.
Autonomous since 1979, Greenland, with 56,000 inhabitants and an immense territory of nearly 2.2 million square kilometers located about 2,500 km from its ruling power, has its own flag, language, culture, institutions, and a Prime Minister.
Its natural resources (oil, gas, gold, diamonds, uranium, zinc, lead) and climate change, which opens new maritime routes, have sparked the interest of the United States, China, and Russia.
Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, has recently built a new runway to accommodate larger passenger planes and develop tourism. Starting in the summer of 2025, Nuuk’s airport will host two weekly flights to New York.
