The prime minister of Greenland said he welcomes talks with President-elect Donald Trump over Greenland’s future.
Greenlandic Prime Minister Mute Egede has expressed readiness to hold talks with President-elect Donald Trump over the president-elect’s expressions of interest in acquiring Greenland on the premise of security imperatives for the United States and its allies.
Egede made the remark during a joint news conference with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Jan. 10. The prime minister of Greenland said he had not yet spoken with Trump regarding the president-elect’s overtures about the United States assuming control of the Arctic island, by military force if necessary.
“We are ready to talk,” Egede said. “Cooperation is about dialogue. Cooperation means that you will work towards solutions.”
However, Greenland seeks to be an independent, sovereign country; not a U.S. territory, he said. This suggests that talks with Trump would revolve around a deal focused on resources and security, rather than about becoming the 51st state.
“We have a desire for independence, a desire to be the master of our own house,” Egede said. “This is something everyone should respect.”
As a semi-autonomous territory, Greenland runs its own domestic matters, but its foreign affairs—including defense—are controlled by Denmark. The former Danish colony is strategically located about halfway along the shortest route from Europe and Russia to North America. It’s also home to a large U.S. Space Force base, and its proximity to the Arctic means that it plays a key role in monitoring and managing Arctic security.
The Arctic is the shortest path for intercontinental ballistic missiles between the United States and Russia, making Greenland a critical outpost amid rising global power rivalries. Denmark and the United States are bound by the 1951 Defense Agreement, which grants Washington exclusive control over some of Greenland’s defense zones and the ability to enhance U.S. surveillance of Arctic waters, central to NATO’s Arctic strategy.
Trump has said that acquiring Greenland would be beneficial for the security and economic interests of the United States and its allies.
By Tom Ozimek
