Danish PM Mette Frederiksen
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen delivered a strong rebuke to the United States during her visit to Greenland on Thursday, firmly stating that “you cannot annex another country” amid renewed American interest in acquiring the Arctic territory.
Speaking from the Danish navy inspection ship Vaedderen alongside Greenland’s new Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and outgoing leader Múte B Egede, Frederiksen directly addressed the diplomatic tension, according to a report in The Guardian.
“This is about the world order that we have built together across the Atlantic over generations,” Frederiksen said, switching to English from Danish. “You cannot annex another country – not even with an argument about international security”.
Her comments followed reports in the Washington Post suggesting that the White House budget office is evaluating the costs associated with administering Greenland and calculating potential revenue from its natural resources.
The Danish leader accused the United States of subjecting Denmark and Greenland to “pressure and threats,” questioning, “What should we believe about the country we have admired for many years?”
Frederiksen offered cooperation as an alternative, stating, “If you want to be more present in Greenland, Greenland and Denmark are ready. If you want to strengthen security in the Arctic, as we would like, let’s do it together”.
Nielsen, Greenland’s newly elected leader, emphasized the importance of respectful dialogue, while Egede reiterated his previous stance, saying, “we are not for sale”.
The visit occurred after U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s controversial trip to Greenland last week. Vance’s visit was limited to the U.S. military base Pituffik and did not include meetings with either Greenlandic or Danish officials.
In Brussels, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, who later informed reporters that he had conveyed that “these repeated statements from the U.S. president with a vision or ambition to control Greenland are in no way sustainable.”
Greenland, a former Danish colony, remains part of the Kingdom of Denmark, which retains control over the territory’s foreign and security policies. While there is a growing independence movement on the island, the prospect of U.S. intervention appears to have moderated immediate calls for separation.
A coalition agreement signed by four parties led by Nielsen’s Democrats, just hours before Vance’s arrival last Friday, explicitly declared, “Greenland belongs to us”.
One option reportedly under consideration by the U.S. administration is offering Greenland approximately £500 million annually in subsidies, which would exceed Denmark’s current financial support to the territory.
