A joint statement from all five political parties elected to Greenland’s parliament says the island’s future must be decided by its people.
Published January 10, 2026
Greenland’s political party has rejected repeated threats by US President Donald Trump to seize control of the Arctic island, saying its future must be decided by the people.
President Trump has threatened to seize the mineral-rich autonomous territory of Denmark by force to prevent Russia or China from seizing the strategically located island, raising concerns around the world.
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Leaders of all five political parties elected to Greenland’s parliament said in a joint statement late Friday that they “reiterate our desire to see an end to the United States’ contempt for our country.”
“We don’t want to be Americans, we don’t want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders,” they said in a statement posted on social media by Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen.
“Other countries cannot interfere in this. We must decide our future for ourselves, without pressure to make hasty decisions, without procrastination, and without interference from other countries,” the statement added.
The meeting of Greenland’s parliament, Inatsisartut, will be brought forward to ensure a fair and inclusive political debate and ensure the rights of the people, the leaders said.
The date for the meeting has not yet been decided. Greenland’s parliament last met in November and was scheduled to meet again on February 3, according to its website.
The party’s statement came hours after President Trump said Friday that he would “do something about Greenland, whether we like it or not” and said the presence of U.S. troops on the island under a 1951 agreement with fellow NATO member Denmark was not enough to guarantee its defense.
European capitals are scrambling to devise a coordinated response after the White House announced this week that President Trump wanted to buy Greenland and did not rule out military action.
President Trump’s renewed push for Greenland in the wake of the U.S. military intervention in Venezuela has worried many of the island’s 57,000 residents, who have a widely believed goal of eventually becoming an independent state.
A 2009 agreement between Greenland and Denmark explicitly grants Greenlanders the right to independence if they wish, but while all five parties say they want independence, they disagree on when and how to achieve it.
The coalition currently in power in Greenland is not in favor of hasty independence. The only opposition party, Narelak, which won 24.5% of the vote in the 2025 parliamentary elections, wants to sever ties as soon as possible.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that the US occupation of Greenland would mean the end of NATO.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to meet with Denmark’s foreign minister and Greenland’s representative next week. Trump offered to buy Greenland in 2019 during his first term as president, but the offer was rejected.
