The prime minister of Greenland has stated that his citizens would select Denmark over the United States if presented with that option “here and now”.
Jens-Frederik Nielsen’s statement at a joint press conference with Denmark’s prime minister represents the strongest position by a spokesperson from the semi-autonomous Danish territory since US President Donald Trump revived his proposal to annex it.
Trump argues that the US needs to “own” Greenland for defense against Russia and China. The White House has proposed purchasing the island but has not dismissed the possibility of using force for annexation.
Denmark is a member of NATO, and Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen cautioned that the use of military force could lead to the downfall of the trans-Atlantic defense alliance.
When asked later on Tuesday about Nielsen’s remarks, Trump responded: “That’s their issue, I disagree with him… That’s going to create a major problem for him.”
Although Greenland is the most sparsely populated territory, its location between North America and the Arctic positions it advantageously for early warning systems regarding missile strikes and for monitoring maritime traffic in the area.
Trump has consistently maintained that Greenland is crucial to US national security, asserting without evidence that it was “swarmed with Russian and Chinese ships everywhere”.
The US currently has over 100 military personnel permanently stationed at its Pituffik base in the north-western part of Greenland – a site that has been under US control since World War II.
According to existing agreements with Denmark, the US can deploy as many troops to Greenland as it sees fit.
However, Trump told reporters in Washington last week that a lease arrangement wasn’t sufficient – the US “needed to have ownership” and insisted that “NATO must understand that”.
At the news conference in Copenhagen, Frederiksen spoke candidly as she criticized the “entirely unacceptable pressure from our closest ally”.
She warned that “there are many signs that the most difficult challenges lie ahead of us”.
The Greenlandic prime minister stated they were “confronting a geopolitical crisis”, but the island’s stance was unmistakable:
“If we must choose between the United States and Denmark at this moment, we choose Denmark,” he affirmed.
“It must be clear to everyone. Greenland does not want to be owned by the United States. Greenland does not want to be governed by the United States. Greenland does not want to be part of the United States.”
The Copenhagen news conference took place a day before Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt are set to visit the US for meetings with Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Denmark’s NATO allies – prominent European nations as well as Canada – have shown their support this week with statements reaffirming that “only Denmark and Greenland can determine their relationships”.
Emphasizing that they share the same commitment to Arctic security as the US, they have stated that this should be accomplished by allies, including the US, “collectively”.
They also advocated for “upholding the principles of the UN Charter, including sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the inviolability of borders”.
Concerns regarding the territory’s future were reignited after Trump’s military actions against Venezuela on Saturday aimed at seizing its president, Nicolás Maduro.
Trump had previously attempted to purchase the island in 2019, during his initial presidential term, only to be informed it was not for sale.
In recent years, interest in Greenland’s natural resources – including rare earth minerals, uranium, and iron – has surged as these have become more accessible due to the melting ice caused by climate change. Scientists also believe it could hold significant oil and gas reserves.
