Greenland PM says talk of annexing island is ‘unacceptable’

Reuters :

Greenland’s incoming prime minister said that talk of annexing the semi-autonomous Danish island was unacceptable on Friday, after the US Secretary of State said Denmark should focus on the fact that Greenlanders do not want to be a part of Denmark.

The comments follow months of tension between Washington on the one hand and Copenhagen and Nuuk on the other, over US President Donald Trump’s repeated declarations that the Arctic island should become part of the United States.

“We are human beings up here; we are not a piece of property that can be bought. Partnerships and cooperation can always be discussed, but talk of annexation is unacceptable,” Greenland’s incoming Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen told broadcaster TV2.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said earlier on Friday that Denmark should focus on the fact that Greenlanders do not want to be a part of Denmark. Greenland is currently a semi-autonomous Danish territory.

“Greenlanders are going to make a decision,” Rubio told reporters at a press conference after meeting other NATO foreign ministers in Brussels.
Nielsen rebuffed Rubio’s comments.