Danish officials framed the US president’s direct appeal to the island’s inhabitants to choose to be part of his country as a positive — at least in some way.
US President Donald Trump’s latest comments about Greenland are a “positive development” expressing respect for Greenlanders’ self-determination, according to Denmark’s defence chief.
Defence Minister Lund Poulsen responded on Wednesday to a direct appeal Trump made to Greenlanders in a speech to the US Congress, one week before the island’s inhabitants are set to head to the polls for parliamentary elections.
“We strongly support your right to determine your own future, and if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America,” Trump said on Tuesday.
“If one is to note something in some kind of positive direction in what Trump said last night in his speech, then that is also what he is expressing. That he has respect for the Greenlandic people and their wishes, ” Poulsen retorted.
He added that it was up to Greenlanders to decide the future of their island, likely through an independence referendum.
His sentiment was echoed by Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, who said that was the “most important” part of Trump’s words.
Rasmussen said Greenland likely wanted to loosen ties with Denmark, which partly controls the island. However, Rasmussen added he was not sure if islanders would like to become part of the US instead.
During his speech, Trump also made several implications about the island’s sovereignty, including claiming his administration was “working with everyone to try and get it,” that have sparked anger amongst Greenlandic politicians.
Trump said the US would “take it one way or the other” — a proposal Greenland’s Prime Minister Múte B Egede rejected out of hand.
“We are not Americans, we are not Danes, because we are Greenlanders,” Egede said in a post on Facebook.
“The future of the country will be determined by us in our country, of course,” he added.
Trump has long expressed a desire to acquire Greenland from Denmark, which he says is vital to protecting US interests.
Trump has doubled down on his comments about the island since taking power in January and refused to rule out using military force to take control of the territory.
In light of US interest and Trump’s threats, the island’s long-standing independence movement has become a key issue as Greenlanders are set to hold a snap parliamentary election next week.
The current government is primarily composed of the Community of the People party and the Social Democratic Siumut party, who control 21 of the 31 seats.
Although both favour independence, the Community of the People party has advocated that independence should be pursued only when the island is less dependent on financial support — particularly from Denmark.
A poll by Danish newspaper Berlingske showed that an overwhelming majority of the island’s population, 84%, want their homeland to be independent from Denmark.
In contrast, only 6% say they want the semi-autonomous country to become part of the US instead.
