COPENHAGEN: Greenland´s prime minister on Tuesday stressed that decisions about the autonomous territory´s future would be made on the island, after US President Donald Trump reiterated that the United States needed Greenland for “national security”.
“Greenland is our country. Our decisions are made here,” Jens-Frederik Nielsen said in a Facebook post.
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has repeatedly said the United States “needs” the resource-rich autonomous territory for security reasons and has refused to rule out using force to secure it.
Trump on Sunday appointed Louisiana governor Jeff Landry as special envoy to Greenland, prompting anger from Denmark, which summoned the US ambassador.
“We need Greenland for national security. Not for minerals,” Trump told a news conference in Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday.
“We have to have it,” the president said, adding that Landry “wanted to lead the charge”.
On his appointment, Landry immediately vowed to make the Danish territory “a part of the US”.
In his post, Nielsen said he was “sad” after hearing Trump´s renewed desire to take over Greenland.
“Such words reduce our country to a question of security and power. That is not how we see ourselves, and that is not how we in Greenland can or should be described,” Nielsen said.
