Greenland PM Egede says island 'is ours' in defiance of message from Trump

Greenlandic Prime Minister Múte Bourup Egede (Courtesy: Reuters photo)

Greenland's prime minister declared on Wednesday that "Greenland is ours" and cannot be taken or bought in defiance of a message from US President Donald Trump, who said his administration supported the Arctic island's right of self-determination — but added that the United States will acquire the territory “one way or another".

Greenlandic Prime Minister Múte Bourup Egede said the island's citizens are not American nor Danish because they are Greenlandic. The United States needs to understand that, he wrote in a post in Greenlandic and Danish on Facebook Wednesday.

The future of Greenland will be decided by its people, he wrote.

His post came hours after Trump made a direct appeal to Greenlanders in a speech to Congress on Tuesday, a week before islanders 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.

“We will keep you safe. We will make you rich. And together we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before," he added.

But Trump also said his administration was “working with everybody involved to try to get it,” referring to his wishes to acquire Greenland from Denmark, a longtime US ally.

“We need it really for international world security. And I think we're going to get it. One way or the other, we're going to get it,” Trump said.

Many in Greenland, a vast and mineral-rich island that is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark, are worried and offended by Trump's threats to seize control of homeland.

Asked about Trump's comments, Denmark's foreign minister said Wednesday he did not think Greenlanders wanted to separate from Denmark in order to instead become “an integrated part of America”.

Lars Lokke Rasmussen sought to strike an optimistic tone, saying he believed that Trump's reference to respecting Greenlanders' right to self-determination was “the most important part of that speech”.

“I'm very optimistic about what will be a Greenlandic decision about this. They want to loosen their ties to Denmark, we're working on that, to have a more equal relationship,” the minister said during a trip to Finland.

Lokke added that it was important that next week's parliamentary elections are free and fair “without any kind of international intervention”.

Greenlanders will head to the polls Tuesday. Trump's recent comments about taking over the island have ignited unprecedented interest in full independence from Denmark, which has become a key issue during campaign season.