January 14, 2026 | 06:50 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen stated that the self-governing territory of Denmark hopes to remain part of Denmark rather than joining the United States. This statement comes amidst ongoing efforts by U.S. President Donald Trump to acquire the island.
Speaking at a press conference in Copenhagen alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Nielsen mentioned that the autonomous Arctic territory would prefer to remain under Denmark. “We are now facing a geopolitical crisis, and if we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark,” he said as reported by Al Jazeera.
Nielsen's comments came a day after the Greenlandic government rejected Trump's threat to take over control. “The United States has once again reiterated its desire to take over Greenland. This is something that the governing coalition in Greenland cannot accept under any circumstance,” the coalition government of the island said.
“As part of the Danish commonwealth, Greenland is a member of NATO, and the defense of Greenland must therefore be through NATO,” Nielsen stated.
Trump insisted on seizing Greenland, threatening that the territory would be under U.S. control "one war or another."
These threats have created a crisis for NATO, sparking anger from European allies who have warned that the takeover of Greenland would have serious implications for the relationship between the U.S. and Europe.
On Wednesday, U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will hold a meeting with the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland at the White House. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt, told journalists in Copenhagen on Tuesday that they had requested a meeting with Rubio following Trump's threat.
Trump bluntly responded when asked about Nielsen's comments. He warned that it could create "a big problem" for Greenland.
"That's their problem. I disagree with them. I don't know who he is. Don't know anything about him, but that's going to be a big problem for him," said Trump as quoted by NDTV.
Although this Arctic island with a population of 57,000 has long debated its independence from Denmark, polls show that the majority of Greenlandic residents oppose the idea of joining the U.S. These concerns were reflected in the general election last March, where three out of four Greenlandic voters supported parties solely advocating a gradual move towards independence, according to Bloomberg report.
Read: The Pentagon Is Said to Offer Trump Broader Military Options on Iran
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