Greenland Chooses Denmark Over the United States, Says Premier Jens-Frederik Nielsen

Greenland's Premier Reaffirms Desire to Remain Part of Denmark

Greenland's Premier, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, has declared that the Danish autonomous territory prefers to remain a part of Denmark rather than join the United States, amid ongoing pressures from U.S. President Donald Trump for the island's acquisition. During a press conference held in Copenhagen alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Nielsen emphasized that Greenland wishes to stay Danish.

"We are facing a geopolitical crisis, and if we must choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark," he stated.

Frederiksen added that it has not been easy to handle the "completely unacceptable" pressures from Denmark's closest ally. Nielsen's comments came just a day after the Greenlandic government rejected Trump's takeover threats.

"The United States has reiterated its desire to take over Greenland. This cannot be accepted by the governing coalition in Greenland under any circumstances," stated the island's government. "As part of the Danish Commonwealth, Greenland is a member of NATO, and thus its defense must be conducted through NATO," they added.

Trump has insisted that he will take over Greenland, threatening that the territory will be under American control "one way or another." These threats have created a crisis for NATO, provoking outrage among European allies who warned that any takeover of Greenland would have serious repercussions for U.S.-European relations.

On Wednesday, U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are set to host a meeting with the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland at the White House. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt, told reporters in Copenhagen that they requested the meeting with Rubio following Trump's threats.

"The reason we sought the meeting was to move this entire discussion... into a meeting room where we can look each other in the eye and discuss these matters," Rasmussen said.

Aaja Chemnitz, a Greenlandic politician in the Danish parliament, told Al Jazeera that the majority of Greenland's 56,000 residents do not wish to become American citizens. "Greenland is not for sale, and Greenland will never be for sale," Chemnitz, from the Inuit Ataqatigiit party, stated. "People seem to think they can buy the Greenlandic soul. This is our identity, our language, our culture – it would look completely different if we became American citizens, and that is not something most of Greenland desires."