The Message from Greenland: We Do Not Want to Be Part of the USA

Greenland will not agree to the USA buying or otherwise taking control over the country. This statement was reiterated by Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen on Tuesday.

Since the spring of last year, Frederik Nielsen has led a coalition government that includes five of the six parties in the Greenlandic parliament. On Tuesday, he traveled to Copenhagen to participate in the so-called National Meeting.

The National Meeting is held twice a year in the Danish capital with representatives from the Danish government, as well as from the governments of the Faroe Islands and Greenland. During the meetings, foreign, security, and defense policy issues are discussed.

Although the governments of the Faroe Islands and Greenland have extensive autonomy within the Kingdom, Copenhagen is responsible for precisely these three issues.

Heading to the White House

After a stopover in Copenhagen, the Greenlandic prime minister will continue on to Washington. Accompanying him on this leg are Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Motzfeldt.

Once in the USA, the Greenlandic trio will visit the White House to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President J.D. Vance. The meeting will address US President Donald Trump’s demands to, in one way or another, take control over Greenland, which has been Danish or Danish-Norwegian for over a thousand years.

However, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen will not accompany the delegation to the USA. She was pressed on this point during a Tuesday afternoon press conference, which caused her visible irritation.

– Regardless of who participates in the meeting, the message is the same: Greenland is not for sale, she said.

“Unacceptable Pressure”

Tuesday’s press conference saw Mette Frederiksen stand side by side with Jens Frederik Nielsen. It was the Danish prime minister who gave the welcoming remarks.

– For more than a year, Denmark and Greenland have had to deal with an unusual and rather difficult situation, she began.

– It has not been easy to withstand totally unacceptable pressure from our closest ally. But much suggests that the hardest part is still ahead of us.

The Danish prime minister referred to a large number of American “offenses” directed at Denmark, in view of Trump’s imperialist ambitions. Yet, she stated, she remains open to “democratic cooperation” with the USA.

“Do Not Want to Be Owned by the USA”

It was then the Greenlandic prime minister’s turn to speak.

– One thing everyone must understand: Greenland does not want to be owned by the USA. Greenland does not want to be ruled by the USA. Greenland does not want to be a part of the USA, he began his address.

– We choose the Greenland we know today, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Jens Frederik Nielsen pointed out that Greenland and its people are under “enormous pressure” from the USA.

– Greenland’s future is to be shaped by Greenlanders within the constitutional order we have today. Greenland is not for sale. Even talking about buying a people, about buying us, is derailed. It is not respectful, he said.

– We have said this from the beginning. It remains our message. And that is the message we will bring to the USA tomorrow.

Sweden Promises Assistance

Previously, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Poland—the so-called G6 countries—had made it clear they back Denmark. On Monday, Sweden issued a similar statement.

– We on the Swedish side are ready to step up with anything Denmark wishes to ensure that it is Denmark and Greenland together who decide Greenland’s future, said Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch (Christian Democrats) during the “People and Defense” conference in Sälen.

Busch stated that the USA has an “extremely unpredictable political leadership” and received support from Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard (Moderates).

– I am very concerned by the rhetoric we now hear from the USA regarding Greenland. That is not how one acts toward an ally, and we stand with Denmark and Greenland and will continue to do so, she said.