Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede said on Friday he was ready to speak with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has said he wants control over the Arctic island, and urged respect for the island's independence aspirations.
Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has described U.S. control of Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, as an "absolute necessity". He did not dismiss the potential use of military or economic means, including tariffs against Denmark.
At a Copenhagen press conference, when asked if he had had contact with Trump, Egede responded: "No, but we are ready to talk."
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who also addressed the press conference, said on Thursday she had asked for a meeting with Trump, but did not expect it to happen before his inauguration.
Greenland, home to 57,000 people, was a Danish colony until 1953 but is now a self-governing Danish territory. In 2009, it secured the right to claim independence through a vote.
The U.S. maintains a military base in the northern part of the strategically important territory.
Egede emphasised Greenland's aspirations, saying: "We have a desire for independence, a desire to be the master of our own house ... This is something everyone should respect."
"But that doesn't mean we are cutting all ties, all cooperation and all relations with Denmark," he said.
An independence movement has gained momentum in recent years, which Egede discussed in his new year speech.
© Thomson Reuters 2025.
6 Comments
elephant200
The Greenland has never been on auction. Can the E.U. get up and stood firm with a spine. They were good at bashing Russia or China but so cowardice to reject Trump's madness. The American money were dirty !
bass4funk
That’s great news, let’s see what happens next.
JJE
Hilarious how it is not Russia/China threatening EU territory but the US - which they have spent the last decade vassalising themselves to, cooking up imagined threats of the former.
And now all the vassals, realizing their geopolitical impotence, all go silent.
Really pathetic, cowardly stuff.
Blacklabel
Oh look at that, Greenland wants to talk.
OssanAmerica
It is in the interests of the US, Greenland and EU to advance a closer relationship between the US and Greenland. Especially now with Russia's behavior and they having declared Greenland to be in their "Sphere of Interest".
Whether this means Greenland goes from Danish control to US control, or it simply gains full sovereignty and becomes an EU nation still needs to be seen. But the principle is sound. A greater US military presence in Greenland can be achieved through diplomatic means without any territorial annexation.
elephant200
Trump depised the entire European Union. This is his behavior as we have seen in his first term. Back in 2018 he raised that issue to Denmark , he wanted to test the response from Europeans. Now he added he won't rule out to use force if necessary. If someone took away your things or property without your agree and leave you with a small sum of money , what is this? An insult and a robbery.
Trump wants to screw-up NATO and piss off the entire western world. Bad for America's global influence that just made everyone hates you much.But that is not a bad idea for Russia and China, they do applauding Trump's approach !