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Greenland not interested in becoming part of America, says PM

Mute Egede stressed that the island wants "strong cooperation" together with the US

NEW YORK, January 17. /TASS/. Greenland will always be a member of NATO and is ready to cooperate with the United States, but is not interested in becoming part of America, Prime Minister Mute Egede said, commenting on the claims of US President-elect Donald Trump to take possession of the island.

"We will always be a part of NATO. We will always be a strong partner for [the] US. We are close neighbors. We have been incorporated in the last 80 years. And I think in the future, we have a lot to offer, to cooperate with. But we want to also be clear: We don't want to be Americans. We don't want to be a part of [the] US, but we want strong cooperation together with [the] US," Egede noted.

Greenland is part of Denmark as an autonomous territory. Since 1979, it has had the legal right to declare independence by referendum. The United States and Denmark are founding members of NATO. In 1951, Washington and Copenhagen signed the Greenland Defense Treaty. In accordance with this agreement, the United States committed to defend the island from external aggression. To this end, it established the Thule airbase there, the largest in the Arctic, where a US military contingent is deployed and strategic bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons are stationed. In 2023, the airbase was renamed Pituffik Space Base, which performs the tasks of the missile warning system and control of the Arctic region.

US President-elect Donald Trump stated on January 7 that Greenland should become part of the United States to ensure national security and defend against the Chinese and Russian threats. Trump had suggested in 2019 during his first presidential term that the US could buy Greenland, which is currently a part of Denmark and enjoys extensive autonomy. Both Greenlandic and Danish officials dismissed the proposal as preposterous.