Greenland’s prime minister said Tuesday the Danish autonomous territory wanted to stake out its own future and did not want to become American, following US President Donald Trump’s renewed remarks about taking control of the island.
Trump, who took office on Monday, set off alarm bells in early January by refusing to rule out military intervention to bring the Panama Canal and Greenland under US control.
While Trump did not mention Greenland in his inauguration speech on Monday, he was asked about it by reporters in the Oval Office afterwards.
“Greenland is a wonderful place, we need it for international security,” Trump responded.
“I’m sure that Denmark will come along – it’s costing them a lot of money to maintain it, to keep it,” he added.
But Greenlandic and Danish officials on Tuesday defended the Arctic island’s right to self-determination.