On May 18 (local time), the Greenland government said that high-level negotiations with the US on the future of the island had made progress, but emphasized that Greenland "will never be sold".
The statement was made after a meeting between US Special Envoy Jeff Landry with Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Foreign Minister Mute Egede in the capital Nuuk.
Mr. Jeff Landry, who was appointed by President Donald Trump last year to promote US control over Greenland, arrived in Nuuk on May 17 and held official exchanges on May 18.
After the meeting, Prime Minister Nielsen said Greenland is focusing on finding "a good solution for everyone", while emphasizing that threats of merger, takeover or acquisition of Greenland and the people of Greenland are not allowed to happen.
Mr. Nielsen said that Greenland has seen progress in discussions with Washington. However, the island's leaders continue to maintain a tough stance on sovereignty. Foreign Minister Mute Egede affirmed that Greenland has a clear "red line" and will not sell its territory in any form.
We will own Greenland forever," Mr. Mute Egede said after meeting with the US delegation.
Mr. Landry's side has not made an official statement after the meeting. Previously, he told local media that the trip was to "listen and learn".
Mr. Trump's repeated statement that the US needs to own or control Greenland has caused tension between Washington and Copenhagen, in the context that both the US and Denmark are founding members of NATO. These statements have also sparked broader debate in Europe about the future of the semi-autonomous territory of Denmark.
To reduce tensions, Greenland, Denmark and the United States have agreed to conduct high-level diplomatic talks since the beginning of this year to resolve the crisis related to this Arctic island. The results of the negotiations have not yet been announced.
According to information from Greenland, the US wants to increase its military presence on the island and include Greenland in the "Golden Dome" defense system proposed by Mr. Trump to deal with nuclear attacks.
Currently, the US maintains an operational base in Greenland, the Pituffik space base in the northwest of the island. This number is much lower than the approximately 17 military facilities that Washington operated in Greenland in 1945, when thousands of US soldiers were present on the island.
Despite acknowledging progress in dialogue, Greenland leaders still emphasized that all future solutions must respect the sovereignty and self-determination of the local people, and reject all ideas of territorial trade.
