The Danish prime minister has put on a show of unity with Greenlandic leaders in her first visit to the Arctic island since Donald Trump’s renewed threats to acquire the territory, telling the US: “You cannot annex another country.”
Speaking onboard an inspection ship in front of a military helicopter, alongside Greenland’s new prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, and its outgoing prime minister, Múte B Egede, Mette Frederiksen switched from Danish to English to address the diplomatic standoff with the Trump administration.
“This is about the world order that we have built together across the Atlantic over generations,” she said. “You cannot annex another country – not even with an argument about international security.”
Her words came after a six-hour boat trip on the ocean-patrol vessel HDMS Vædderen with the two Greenlandic leaders during which they also viewed the area from above in a helicopter. “If you want to strengthen security in the Arctic, as we would like, let’s do it together,” she told the US.
Denmark and Greenland “want to cooperate with the United States”, she said. “If you want to be more present in Greenland, Greenland and Denmark are ready. If you want to strengthen security in the Arctic, as we would like, let’s do it together.”
Accusing the US of subjecting Denmark and Greenland to “pressure and threats”, she said: “What should we believe about the country we have admired for many years?”
Nielsen said: “Dialogue is of course the way forward, but it is also a great uncertainty that there is no dialogue now. That is why it is important to have dialogue that is based on respect.”
Calling for unity, Greenland’s prime minister said: “Because of the things happening outside the country, we must stand together. Also within the realm, but also in our relationship with our allies.”
Egede said Greenland wanted to cooperate with the US on trade, but reasserted his previous comments, saying: “We are not for sale.”
Meanwhile, in Brussels, the US state department said Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, had reaffirmed the “strong relationship” between the US and Denmark during a meeting with Lars Løkke Rasmussen, the Danish foreign minister.
Afterwards, Rasmussen said that he had “used this opportunity to state some things on behalf of the Danish kingdom”. He added: “More specifically, that these repeated statements from the US president with a vision or ambition to control Greenland are in no way sustainable. It has reached a point where it actually challenges our sovereignty as a kingdom.”
In contrast to last week’s Greenland visit by the US vice-president, JD Vance – which, after a diplomatic outcry, was limited to the US military base Pituffik and did not involve Greenlandic or Danish representatives – Frederiksen was greeted at the airport by Egede and went straight to the capital, Nuuk, where she met Nielsen.
Frederiksen’s visit had initially been criticised by members of the governing coalition because the new government has not yet been officially approved. However, before her arrival, Nielsen said: “Denmark is our closest partner and it is natural we meet as soon as possible.”
The last time Frederiksen was in Greenland was in March 2024 on a joint visit with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
As a former Danish colony, Greenland remains in the kingdom of Denmark, which continues to control the territory’s foreign and security policies.
Greenland’s long-running independence movement has been gaining momentum in recent months – momentum the Trump administration appears to be hoping to capitalise on – particularly after claims of alleged mistreatment of Greenlanders by the Danish state.
But the threat of US intervention appears to have slowed down appetite in Greenland for a rapid move towards independence. A general election last month resulted in the most US- and Trump-friendly party leaving coalition talks, after which the four other parties, led by Nielsen’s Democrats, signed a coalition agreement hours before Vance touched down in Greenland last Friday.
Page one of the agreement stated: “Greenland belongs to us.”
Frederiksen’s visit takes place amid reports from the US that the White House is preparing an estimate of what it would cost the government to control Greenland as a territory.
According to the Washington Post, the White House budget office is assessing the cost of running Greenland and working out an estimate of how much revenue could be earned from its natural resources.
Among the options on the table is to offer Greenland a higher figure in subsidies, approximately £500m a year, than Denmark currently does.
