Greenland Leader Open to Talks With Trump Over US Interests in Arctic Island

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 press 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.”

Egede added, however, that Greenland seeks to be an independent, sovereign country; not a U.S. territory. 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 facility 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, granting 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.

“We need Greenland for national security purposes,” Trump said at a recent press conference at Mar-a-Lago. “I’m talking about protecting the free world.”

The president-elect’s proposal to buy Greenland was rejected by the Greenlandic prime minister, who said the Arctic island is “not for sale.”

The Greenlandic leader also said at the beginning of January that a legal framework has been established for Greenland to gain independence from Denmark and become a fully sovereign country—an effort that has been supported by China.

“The Greenlandic people’s opportunity for independence has been adopted through the provisions of the Self-Government Act, thereby creating a legal basis for how independence can be achieved,” Egede said.

“A draft constitution for our country has also been prepared,” he added. “Work has already begun with regard to creating the framework for Greenland as an independent state within the possibilities and provisions of the Self-Government Act.”

During the Jan. 10 press conference in Copenhagen, the Greenlandic prime minister said that the desire to seek independence does not mean cutting all ties or relations with Denmark.

“Greenland is for the Greenlandic people. We do not want to be Danish, we do not want to be American. We want to be Greenlandic,” Egede said at the presser.

However, Egede’s remarks about wanting to hold talks with Trump suggest a potential new deal could be in the pipeline that could bolster America’s security footprint in the Arctic and pave the way for more resource extraction, including for critical minerals.