Greenland Premier Tells US Envoy Island Is ‘Not for Sale’

Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen told US special envoy Jeff Landry that Greenland is “not for sale”.

Landry, appointed by President Donald Trump last year to lead the effort to purchase the island, met with Nielsen and Greenland’s Foreign Minister Mute Egede in Nuuk to discuss the territory’s future.

Trump has threatened to take over the autonomous Danish territory, a NATO ally, possibly by military force, insisting control is vital to US security.

Nielsen described the meeting as “constructive” but said there was “no sign…that anything had changed” regarding the US position, according to the AFP news agency.

“The Greenlandic people are not for sale. Greenlandic self-determination is not something that can be negotiated,” Nielsen told Danish TV 2 after the meeting, as quoted by the broadcaster. Landry did not immediately comment.

Greenland is “focused on finding a solution that is good for us all” and deterring threats of “annexation, takeover or purchase,” Nielsen added.

Trump has long argued the US must take over Greenland to prevent Russia or China from occupying it, accusing Denmark of failing to ensure the island’s security. That stance has fueled unrest within NATO, with numerous European members objecting to the threats.

According to Denmark’s public broadcaster, Landry said upon arrival that Trump told him to “go over there and make as many friends as we can get.”

“They asked for a meeting, and we’ve explained our situation and standpoint, and that we have some red lines – we will not sell Greenland, we will own Greenland for all time,” Egede said.

Egede added that a group of experts from the US, Greenland and Denmark is working to find a solution, describing the group’s efforts as “promising.”

Trump has said controlling Greenland is important so the island can be part of his Golden Dome defense system against nuclear attack.