Danish PM: Trump may revive plans to "buy" Greenland

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that US President Donald Trump may have set aside his ambitions for Greenland for now, but he is likely to return to the issue in the future.

Speaking at the opening session of the Danish parliament on October 7, Frederiksen said that while Trump’s attention appears to have shifted elsewhere in recent months, Denmark cannot assume that Washington’s interest in Greenland has faded permanently.

“Right now, it seems far away. There is perhaps a feeling that we can breathe a sigh of relief,” she told lawmakers. “But it is my belief that we cannot.”

Frederiksen recalled Trump’s earlier fixation on Greenland — a vast, resource-rich Arctic island that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark — when he refused to rule out sending US troops or using economic leverage to secure control of it. The island holds substantial untapped deposits of rare earth elements, resources that have drawn growing global competition.

The prime minister said that although Trump has made few, if any, public statements about Greenland in recent months, the island’s residents continue to live with the anxiety caused by such remarks.

“Imagine what it’s like to live in one of the small settlements along the coast … when the world’s strongest superpower has talked about you as something that can be bought, as something that can be owned, as something that must be had,” Frederiksen said.

“No matter what happens, we support Greenland in determining its own future. And we will not be threatened or intimidated into doing something that is clearly wrong,” she added.

Since Trump’s overtures, Greenland has moved to strengthen its international relationships, particularly with the European Union and other democratic partners, as a safeguard against future US pressure. The island is also preparing to finalise a critical minerals partnership with the United Kingdom.

In May, Greenland’s Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt said that the island was interested in exploring trade cooperation with “like-minded countries,” criticising Trump’s earlier rhetoric as aggressive and destabilising.

Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen is expected to address the European Parliament in Strasbourg on October 8, where he will discuss economic cooperation and Arctic governance.

Greenland, the world’s largest island, lies between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though geographically part of North America, it maintains close cultural and political ties with Europe through Denmark.

The island has been self-governing since 1979 and gained expanded autonomy in 2009. Denmark retains control over its defence and foreign affairs, while the local government in Nuuk manages most domestic matters.

With a population of about 56,000 — primarily Inuit, the descendants of Arctic indigenous peoples — Greenland relies heavily on fishing, particularly shrimp and halibut, as well as on developing its mineral resources. The island’s ice sheet, covering about 80 per cent of its surface, is the world’s second largest and a major indicator of global climate change.

Strategically, Greenland’s Arctic location makes it a focal point of international interest. The United States has maintained a significant military presence there since World War II, most notably through Thule Air Base in the island’s northwest.

By Tamilla Hasanova