All five parties in Greenland‘s parliament have united to reject US President Donald Trump’s calls to take over the strategically important Arctic island.
“We, all party leaders, cannot accept the repeated statements on annexation and control of Greenland,” the parties said in a joint statement posted on Facebook. “We … find this conduct unacceptable to friends and allies in a defense alliance.”
The party leaders released their statement on Friday after Trump repeated his desire to take control of Greenland during a meeting with NATO chief Mark Rutte.
The autonomous island of nearly 57,000 people, who are mostly indigenous Inuit, belongs to Denmark, a NATO ally of the United States.
Greenland’s outgoing prime minister, Mute Egede, was even more outspoken than his parliamentary colleagues in rejecting Trump’s comments.
“Our country will never be the USA, and we Greenlanders will never be Americans,” he wrote on Facebook. “Greenland is one country. We are united.”
Egede continues to lead Greenland while awaiting the formation of a new government after his party’s defeat in elections on Tuesday.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen also pushed back Friday on Trump’s latest remarks, saying Greenland could not be taken over by another country.
“If you look at the NATO treaty, the UN charter or international law, Greenland is not open to annexation,” Rasmussen said.
Greenland is a self-governing territory of Denmark, but remains financially heavily dependent on Denmark, and foreign affairs and defense are run by the government in Copenhagen.
Despite four-fifths of Greenland being covered in snow, its vast natural resources, which include 25 of 34 minerals classified by the European Union as critical, make it particularly attractive economically.
The island, which hosts a large US base, also sits strategically between Russia and North America.
Edited by: Sean Sinico