US won’t take over Greenland, Denmark PM says, vowing support against Trump push

Denmark’s prime minister pledged to support Greenland against US President Donald Trump’s expressions of interest in acquiring the Danish semi-autonomous territory as she landed in Nuuk on Wednesday for talks with its incoming government.

Mette Frederiksen began her three-day trip to the vast Arctic island less than a week after a visit to the territory by US Vice-President J.D. Vance drew a frosty reception from authorities in Denmark and Greenland.

“The US shall not take over Greenland. Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders,” Frederiksen told reporters in the capital Nuuk soon after her arrival.

The Danish leader said she wanted to support Greenland “in a very, very difficult situation”.

Ahead of her visit she had said she aimed to strengthen Copenhagen’s ties with the island and emphasised the importance of respectful cooperation at a time of what she described as “great pressure on Greenland”.

Greenland’s incoming Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, who won last month’s parliamentary election and will form a coalition government, has welcomed Frederiksen’s trip, saying that Denmark remains “Greenland’s closest partner”.