# Greenland's politicians unite against Trump

1 day ago

Tiffany Wertheimer  
BBC News



Outgoing Greenlandic Prime Minister Mute B Egede said he called the party leaders together because "we need to tighten our rejection of Trump"

Greenland's leading political parties have issued a joint statement to condemn Donald Trump's "unacceptable behaviour", after the US president seemed to escalate his campaign to take over the island.

The show of unity saw all leaders of parties in the Inatsisartut - the parliament - release a joint message saying they "cannot accept the repeated statements about annexation and control of Greenland".

It follows a meeting between Trump and Nato's secretary general Mark Rutte on Thursday, where the president seemed to double down on his annexation plan.

Greenland's joint statement was orchestrated by outgoing Prime Minister Mute B Egede, whose party was defeated in an election on Tuesday.

"Our country will never be the USA and we Greenlanders will never be Americans," Egede wrote on Facebook. "Don't keep treating us with disrespect. Enough is enough."

Greenland - the world's biggest island, between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans - has been controlled by Denmark, nearly 3,000km (1,860 miles) away, for about 300 years.

Greenland governs its own domestic affairs, but decisions on foreign and defence policy are made in Copenhagen.

The US has long had a security interest in the island. It has had a military base there since World War Two, and Trump is probably also keen on the rare earth minerals that could be mined.

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- **BBC InDepth:** 

Greenland was already on the defensive about Trump's annexing talk, but his comments to Rutte at the White House sent further shockwaves when he implied that Nato's help might be needed to seize the island.

"You know, Mark, we need that for international security... we have a lot of our favourite players cruising around the coast, and we have to be careful," Trump said.

"You'll be talking to you," he added.

When asked about the prospect of annexation, Trump said: "I think that will happen."

Rutte has been criticised in both Greenland and Denmark for not reprimanding Trump. Instead, he said he would "leave that  outside... I do not want to drag Nato into that".

He then pivoted to praise - something several world leaders have used when dealing with Donald Trump - saying he was "totally right" that security in the Arctic must be maintained.



Mark Rutte has been criticised for not standing up to Donald Trump on the issue of Greenland

The  from Greenland's politicians emphasised that they are united in their pushback against Trump's plan.

"Greenland continues the work for Greenland," the statement said.

"We all stand behind this effort and strongly distance ourselves from attempts to create discord."

Their decision to speak out came three days after elections in which the centre-right opposition - the Democratic Party - won a surprise victory.

Its leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, who is likely to be Greenland's new prime minister, is now negotiating with other parties to form a coalition.

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