Copenhagen, Jan 13 (EFE).– Amid mounting US pressure over Greenland’s strategic importance, Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said on Tuesday that the Arctic territory would remain with Denmark if required to choose between Copenhagen and Washington.
“If we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark,” Nielsen said at a joint press conference with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
“This is not the time for internal disagreements, but for standing together.”
Nielsen reiterated that Greenland “is not for sale” and stressed that it is governed by the rule of law, describing the current situation as “very, very serious” due to what he called “enormous” pressure on the territory.
“The red line is that Greenland cannot be bought. We are together in the Kingdom with Denmark and we will always be part of the Western alliance. The future of Greenland will be decided by Greenlanders, as stated in the Statute of Autonomy. With that message, we travel tomorrow to the United States,” he said.
Earlier, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen confirmed that he will meet on Wednesday in Washington with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss Greenland, a meeting that will also include Greenland’s foreign affairs adviser, Vivian Motzfeldt.
The meeting will take place at the White House, with US Vice President JD Vance acting as host, Rasmussen said.
“Greenland is in the eye of the hurricane under this pressure. But this is also about the world order we know. If it collapses, Greenland and the rest of the world will face challenges that are difficult to counter,” Nielsen said.
The Greenlandic government said on Monday it favors NATO assuming responsibility for the island’s defense and stressed that Greenland “is part of the Kingdom of Denmark.”
Several European countries, led by Germany and the United Kingdom, are studying the possibility of NATO increasing its presence in Greenland.
Four days ago, leaders of the five political parties represented in Greenland’s parliament, the Inatsisartut, issued a joint statement defending the right of Greenlanders to decide their own future in response to US pressure.
“The future of Greenland must be decided by Greenlanders, through dialogue with their people and in accordance with international law and the Statute of Autonomy. No other country can interfere,” the statement said. EFE
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