The Japan Times - 'American? No!' says Greenland after latest Trump threat

The statement late Friday came after Trump repeated that Washington was "going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not".

European capitals have been scrambling to come up with a coordinated response after the White House said this week that Trump wanted to buy Greenland and refused to rule out military action.

"We don't want to be Americans, we don't want to be Danish, we want to be Greenlanders," the leaders of five parties in Greenland's parliament said in a joint statement.

"The future of Greenland must be decided by Greenlanders."

"No other country can meddle in this. We must decide our country’s future ourselves -— without pressure to make a hasty decision, without procrastination, and without interference from other countries," they underscored.

Julius Nielsen, a 48-year-old fisherman in the capital Nuuk, told AFP: "American, no! We were a colony for so many years. We’re not ready to be a colony again, to be colonised".

A Danish colony until 1953, Greenland gained home rule 26 years later and is contemplating eventually loosening its ties with Denmark.

Many Greenlanders remain cautious about making this a reality.

"I really like the idea of us being independent, but I think we should wait. Not for now. Not today," Pitsi Mari, who works in telecoms, told AFP.

The coalition currently in power is not in favour of a hasty independence. The only opposition party, Naleraq, which won 24.5 percent of the vote in the 2025 legislative elections, wants to cut ties as quickly as possible but it is also a signatory of the joint declaration.

"It’s time for us to start preparing for the independence we have fought for over so many years," said MP Juno Berthelsen in a Facebook post.

- Vast natural resources -

Denmark and other European allies have voiced shock at Trump's threats on Greenland, a strategic island between North America and the Arctic where the United States has had a military base since World War II.

Trump says controlling the island is crucial for US national security given the rising military activity of Russia and China in the Arctic.

"We're not going to have Russia or China occupy Greenland. That's what they're going to do if we don't. So we're going to be doing something with Greenland, either the nice way or the more difficult way," the US president said Friday.

Both Russia and China have increased military activity in the region in recent years, but neither has laid any claim to the vast icy island.

Greenland has also attracted international attention in recent years for its vast natural resources including rare earth minerals and estimates that it could possess huge oil and gas reserves.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that an invasion of Greenland would end "everything", meaning the transatlantic NATO defence pact and the post-World War II security structure.

- Flurry of diplomacy -

"I'm a fan of Denmark, too, I have to tell you. And you know, they've been very nice to me," Trump said.

"But you know, the fact that they had a boat land there 500 years ago doesn't mean that they own the land."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is due to meet next week with Denmark's foreign minister and representatives from Greenland.

A flurry of diplomacy is under way as Europeans try to head off a crisis while at the same time avoiding the wrath of Trump, who is nearing the end of his first year back in power.

Trump had offered to buy Greenland in 2019 during his first presidential term but was rebuffed.

The head of NATO's forces in Europe, US General Alexus Grynkewich, said Friday the military alliance was far from being in "a crisis", following Trump's threats to bring Greenland under US control.

T.Ikeda--JT