Greenland Prime Minister Múte Egede hit back at US President-elect Donald Trump, insisting that the island is “not for sale and will never be” after the American leader reiterated his ambition to buy it. On Monday, Trump said that “for purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”
Greenland is a large icy Arctic island, which houses 50,000 residents and is a self-ruling territory of Denmark. While dismissing Trump’s remarks, Greenland’s leader responded to the matter swiftly. “Greenland is ours,” Egede wrote. “We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom,” he added.
Egede’s remarks came hours after Trump nominated Ken Howery as the US ambassador to Denmark. Howery served as the American Ambassador to Sweden during Trump’s first stint in the White House. Over the weekend Trump suggested that the US should take back the control over the Panama Canal, which is owned and operated by the Panama government-owned Panama Canal Authority.
Panama President José Raúl Mulino responded that “every square meter” of the canal “belongs to Panama and will continue belonging to Panama.” “We’ll see about that!” Trump replied to Mulino’s remarks.
Not the first time
Back in 2019, Trump indicated that he wanted to purchase Greenland. At that time, he was mostly interested in the region’s natural resources and geopolitical relevance. Despite the then president’s frequent remarks on the matter, leaders in Denmark were not jazzed about his instances.
“Greenland is not for sale. Greenland is not Danish. Greenland belongs to Greenland. I strongly hope that this is not meant seriously,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said during a visit to Greenland in 2019. Frustrated by the rebuttal, Trump cancelled a meeting with her because she called Trump’s proposition “absurd”.
Content retrieved from: https://www.firstpost.com/world/not-for-sale-greenland-pm-responds-to-trumps-control-comment-13847546.html.
