Greenland's prime minister said Monday that his country has no interest in becoming part of the U.S., but said he open to building closer ties with Washington on security and natural resource exploitation.
The prime minister, Múte Egede, was seeking to calm a diplomatic firestorm ignited by President-elect Donald Trump's declaration last week that it was an "absolute necessity" for the U.S. to take ownership of Greenland. Trump later refused to rule out the use of force to seize the island.
Speaking at a news conference, Egede said: "We don't want to be American." But he added that he wants to pursue deeper collaboration on defense, and welcomed U.S. investment in Greenland's mining industry.
Egede said he took comfort in the fact that Trump's vice president-elect, JD Vance, has played down the likelihood of an invasion. Other senior U.S. politicians have done so, too.
This story is from the January 14, 2025 edition of The Wall Street Journal.
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This story is from the January 14, 2025 edition of The Wall Street Journal.
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