Danish and Greenlandic leaders reaffirm territorial sovereignty after trump renews control demands.

On Wednesday, Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen called on U.S. President Donald Trump to respect the Arctic island’s territorial integrity and right to self-determination.

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“Unfortunately, we have to repeat ourselves once again: Greenland is not for sale. There must be respect for territorial integrity, international law, and our right to self-determination,” Nielsen wrote on his government’s official website.

“Greenland’s future will be decided by us, the people of Greenland, and not by others. Repeating the desire to take over or control our country does not change that,” he added.

Earlier, on both Tuesday and Wednesday, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also warned Trump that Greenland “is not for sale” and that Copenhagen would defend “every inch of its territory.”

“We expect everyone, including all allies, to respect the Greenlandic people’s right to self-determination, because we are a sovereign state, and we need everyone to respect our territorial integrity and our sovereignty,” she stressed.

At the NATO summit in Ankara, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said that if “Trump decided everything, Greenland would be American tomorrow, but Greenland does not want to become American.”

“And we have an agreement under which the working group (made up of U.S., Greenlandic and Danish representatives) must find solutions to the legitimate security interests of the United States. We are firmly convinced that this can happen,” the Danish diplomat said, adding that he expected results by the end of the year.

US President Donald Trump has renewed his call for the United States to control Greenland, arguing that the Arctic island is strategically important to American security because of increased Russian and Chinese activity in the region. He also suggested the US could reconsider its… pic.twitter.com/XDqD8iK1CC

— Global South World (@g_s_world) July 7, 2026

On Tuesday, U.S. Special Envoy for Greenland Jeff Landry, who visited the island in May, that he had recommended several priorities to Trump for expanding the U.S. presence in Greenland.

His recommendations include establishing direct maritime routes between the United States and Greenland, expanding the U.S. diplomatic presence on the island, strengthening the U.S. military presence in the autonomous territory, and creating a joint U.S.-Greenland investment fund, among other measures.

Tensions surrounding Trump’s ambitions regarding Greenland persisted throughout 2025 and eased only in January, when the U.S. president reached a preliminary agreement in Davos, Switzerland, with NATO Secretary Mark Rutte to strengthen security in the Arctic. However, he has now renewed his demands for control of the island.

On Wednesday, Trump again that Greenland “is very important” to the United States but “is not” to Denmark, adding that the Arctic territory’s current situation represents “a big problem.”

He reiterated his determination to control the autonomous island, which is part of Denmark, saying Washington “needs Greenland for the protection of the world, not just the United States.”

Trump said the United States “stupidly gave back” control of Greenland to Copenhagen after occupying the island during World War II following Nazi Germany’s occupation of Denmark.

At the Ankara summit on Tuesday, Trump again raised his claim over the Arctic island territory, one of the factors behind the growing rift between Washington and its European allies.

He also accused Denmark of “not spending money to really help” the island territory and criticized European countries for rejecting his proposal despite all the money the United States “spends to help them against Russia.”

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

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