Greenland\u2019s party leaders have rejected President Donald Trump\u2019s calls for the U.S. to take control of the island<\/b>
\nGreenland\u2019s party leaders have rejected President Donald Trump\u2019s repeated calls for the U.S. to take control of the island, saying that Greenland\u2019s future must be decided by its people.
\u201cWe don\u2019t want to be Americans, we don\u2019t want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders,\u201d Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and four party leaders said in a statement Friday night.
Trump said again on Friday that he would like to make a deal to acquire Greenland, a semiautonomous region that\u2019s part of NATO ally Denmark, \u201cthe easy way.\u201d He said that if the U.S. doesn\u2019t own it, then Russia or China will take it over, and the U.S. does not want them as neighbors.
\u201cIf we don\u2019t do it the easy way, we\u2019re going to do it the hard way,\u201d Trump said, without explaining what that entailed. The White House said it is considering a range of options, including using military force, to acquire the island.
Greenland’s party leaders reiterated that \u201cGreenland\u2019s future must be decided by the Greenlandic people.\u201d
\u201cAs Greenlandic party leaders, we would like to emphasize once again our wish that the United States\u2019 contempt for our country ends,\u201d the statement said.
Officials from Denmark, Greenland and the United States met Thursday in Washington and will meet again next week to discuss the renewed push by the White House for the control of the island.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that an American takeover of Greenland would mark the end of NATO.
The party leaders’ statement said that \u201cthe work on Greenland\u2019s future takes place in dialogue with the Greenlandic people and is prepared on the basis of international laws.\u201d
\u201cNo other country can interfere in this,\u201d they said. \u201cWe must decide the future of our country ourselves, without pressure for quick decision, delay or interference from other countries.\u201d
The statement was signed by Nielsen, Pele Broberg, M\u00fate B. Egede, Aleqa Hammond and Aqqalu C. Jerimiassen.
While Greenland is the largest island in the world, it has a population of around 57,000 and doesn\u2019t have its own military. Defense is provided by Denmark, whose military is dwarfed by that of the U.S.
It\u2019s unclear how the remaining NATO members would respond if the U.S. decided to forcibly take control of the island or if they would come to Denmark\u2019s aid.<\/p>\n