Naaja Nathanielsen, Greenland’s minister for trade, uncooked supplies, mining, vitality, regulation enforcement and equality, addresses MPs at a gathering within the Inter-Parliamentary Union room within the Homes of Parliament, Westminster, England, organized by the All-Get together Parliamentary Teams for Greenland following U.S. threats to take over the territory.
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Greenlanders are “bewildered” by President Donald Trump’s “devastating” bid to annex the Arctic island, its enterprise minister has informed CNBC, as the problem turns right into a geopolitical firestorm.
Requested how folks in Greenland have been feeling amid Trump’s pursuit of the island, Nathanielsen stated: “Individuals are anxious, persons are afraid, persons are bewildered.”
“[We have] all the time thought of ourselves as an ally of the U.S. and have tried to accommodate the wants from the U.S. through the years and executed so fortunately,” Nathanielsen stated through video name.
“To hastily discover ourselves within the midst of a storm that is about buying us like a product or a property, it is actually tough for us — to not point out the threats of army motion and an precise occupation of our nation.”
Her feedback come because the U.S. president stepped up his efforts to amass the self-governing Danish territory, which he has claimed is “crucial” for U.S. nationwide safety. On Monday, he answered “no remark” when requested by NBC if he’d use army drive to grab it.
“There will be no going again,” Trump stated of his plans in a social media submit on Tuesday.
The U.S. president on Saturday pledged to impose a rising wave of tariffs on eight European international locations from Feb. 1 for opposing the U.S. buying Greenland.
To hastily discover ourselves within the midst of a storm that is about buying us like a product or a property, it is actually tough for us.”
Naaja Nathanielsen
Greenland’s minister for enterprise and mineral assets
European political leaders have sought to push again and are anticipated to carry talks over how you can reply within the coming days. French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday described Trump’s tariff threats as “essentially unacceptable,” whereas British Prime Minister Keir Starmer known as the transfer “utterly fallacious.”
Nathanielsen informed CNBC she had been “actually moved by the robust present of solidarity” from European political leaders. “You can not go together with a scheme the place you must settle for that an ally occupies one other ally,” she stated.
‘A risk now we have by no means seen earlier than’
Protests have taken place in Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, and Denmark’s Copenhagen in current days, with folks marching with pink and white Greenlandic flags.
Opinion polls have proven that Greenlanders overwhelmingly oppose U.S. management, whereas a robust majority help independence from Denmark.
Folks wave Greenlandic flags as they participate in an illustration that gathered nearly a 3rd of the inhabitants of the Greenlandic capital of Nuuk to protest towards the U.S. president’s plans to amass Greenland, Jan. 17, 2026.
Alessandro Rampazzo | AFP | Getty Pictures
Nathanielsen stated: “We’ve all the time identified that our place on the earth geographically causes some tensions. We’re used to this. We was once a colony of Denmark. So, we’re not we’re not unfamiliar with complexity and controversy and battle — however now we have all the time discovered our methods to adapt to the scenario and work with it.
“And proper now, I believe we’re going through a risk now we have by no means seen earlier than. So, I’m completely sure that had been we to develop into occupied, that might imply the destruction of our tradition. And I discover that fairly devastating.”
Nathanielsen stated the island’s lawmakers would search extra readability on the way it can accommodate the U.S. “with out being swallowed up” by it.
“The specter of occupation is devastating to us. It’s completely not one thing that we’d be capable to work with in any respect,” Nathanielsen stated.
“So, we don’t need to be purchased. We’ve made that fairly clear. In fact, we do not need to be occupied — what nation on the earth would need that? However we do need dialogue. We do need collaboration. And we do need to decrease the temperature,” she added.
What subsequent for Greenland?
In 2009, Greenland was granted higher autonomy over its home affairs by the Self-Authorities Act, which additionally gave the island the correct to carry an independence referendum. Denmark stays liable for its international, protection and safety insurance policies.
Most Greenlandic political events help independence however disagree over when and how you can attain it. The independence motion has develop into a balancing act between the island’s final aim of self-determination and the necessity for Denmark’s monetary help for important companies, akin to well being and schooling.
Chatting with CNBC earlier this month, Aaja Chemnitz, an MP representing Greenland within the Danish Parliament, stated Greenlanders needed to “ensure that we’re not dehumanized, which I believe now we have been on this complete scenario.”
“The persons are resilient. And I believe it is vital to do not forget that, in fact, you may’t purchase a rustic, however you can too not purchase a inhabitants,” Chemnitz informed CNBC on Jan. 8.
