(Files) Houses are pictured in Nuuk, Greenland, on June 15, 2025. (Photo by Ludovic Marin / AFP)
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.
He also thanked the people of Greenland for facing the situation with “calm and dignity,” and said he was also thankful for the support of other government leaders.
“This support confirms that we are not alone here at home,” he said.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen on Monday said he was "deeply angry" by the move and warned Washington to respect Denmark's autonomy.
The European Union also offered its "full solidarity" to Denmark.
Greenland "belongs to its people", French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday.
“I add my voice to that of the Europeans to express our full solidarity,” he wrote on X.
Leaders of both Denmark and Greenland have repeatedly insisted that the vast island is not for sale and that it will decide its own future.
Most of Greenland's 57,000 people want to become independent from Denmark but do not wish to become part of the United States, according to an opinion poll in January.
In August, Denmark summoned the US charge d'affaires after at least three US officials close to Trump were seen in Greenland's capital Nuuk trying to find out how people felt about deepening US ties.
