Speaking to reporters at the White House on January 10, US President Donald Trump emphasized that if the US cannot reach an agreement to "buy" Greenland "easily", Washington will be forced to "do it in a tough way".
The US President believes that this action is necessary to prevent Russia or China from taking control of Greenland in the future.
We will do something to Greenland, whether they like it or not. If we don't do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we don't want Russia or China to become our neighbors" - Mr. Trump said.
However, political parties in Greenland, including the opposition, immediately issued a joint statement completely rejecting the US President's views.
We don't want to be Americans, nor do we want to be Danes. We want to be Greenland. The future of Greenland must be decided by the people of Greenland" - the statement stated.
In recent weeks, President Donald Trump and White House officials have discussed various scenarios to bring Greenland - a self-governing territory belonging to Denmark - under US control, in the context that Washington is increasingly interested in the strategic position of this region.
According to sources, the US does not rule out the possibility of military intervention, although both the Greenland and Danish authorities affirm that Greenland "is not for sale".
The prospect of the US using force to seize Greenland also deeply concerns NATO countries. It is still unclear how other NATO members will react if Washington acts toughly, but many European leaders have warned that this scenario will have serious consequences for the military alliance.
In a joint statement, leaders of France, Germany, England, Italy, Poland and Spain affirmed that Greenland belongs to the people of this island.
However, Mr. Trump still maintained a tone that was both tough and ambiguous. “I want to reach an agreement easily. But if we can't do it easily, we will do it in a difficult way. And by the way, I really like Denmark. They treated me very well” - the US President said.
When asked about information that the US is considering paying money directly to the Greenland people to persuade them to join the US, Mr. Trump replied: "I haven't talked about money for Greenland yet.
In fact, many Greenlanders have publicly rejected this idea. Mr. Simon Kjeldskov, a resident of Nuuk, affirmed: "No, thank you. It's absolutely certain that we don't want that.
Another resident, Juno Michaelsen, emphasized: "No matter how much money it is, we will say no. Greenland belongs to us, and only to us.
Meanwhile, behind-the-scenes diplomatic activities are still taking place. Senior diplomats representing Greenland and Denmark in Washington met with White House officials on January 8.
Danish Ambassador to the US Jesper Møller Christensen and the Chief Representative of Greenland to the US Jacob Isbosethsen had an exchange with President Trump's advisors.
In the evening of the same day, Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, along with 4 other party leaders, once again issued a statement rejecting Mr. Trump's calls. The leaders said that the Greenland Parliament (Inatsisartut) would push ahead the meeting to discuss official responses to threats from the US administration.
