Greenland's leader says the island 'is ours' as Trump vows to acquire the territory

NUUK, Greenland — Greenland’s prime minister declared Wednesday that ‘’Greenland is ours'' and cannot be taken or bought in defiance of a message from U.S. President Donald Trump, who said the United States will acquire the territory ‘’one way or another'' even though his administration supports the Arctic island’s right of self-determination.

‘‘Kalaallit Nunaat is ours,‘’ Prime Minister Múte Bourup Egede wrote, using Greenlandic for the ‘’Land of the People'' or the ‘’Land of the Greenlanders.‘’

Egede added: ‘’We don’t want to be Americans, nor Danes; we are Kalaallit. The Americans and their leader must understand that. We are not for sale and cannot simply be taken. Our future will be decided by us in Greenland.‘’

His post, written in Greenlandic and Danish, later updated to include English, came hours after Trump made a direct appeal to Greenlanders in a speech to Congress on Tuesday, a week before islanders head to the polls for parliamentary elections.

‘‘We strongly support your right to determine your own future, and if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America," Trump said. ‘’We will keep you safe. We will make you rich. And together we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before."

But Trump also said his administration was ‘’working with everybody involved to try to get it,‘’ referring to his wishes to acquire Greenland from Denmark, a longtime U.S. ally.

‘‘We need it really for international world security. And I think we’re going to get it. One way or the other, we’re going to get it,‘’ Trump said.

Many in Greenland, a vast and mineral-rich island that is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark, are worried and offended by Trump’s threats to seize control of homeland.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, in an interview with broadcaster TV2, echoed Egede in repeating that Greenland is not for sale.

She said that Denmark would like to hold onto its commonwealth, but it’s a commonwealth that must be improved through equality and respect.

‘More equal relationship’

Asked about Trump’s comments, Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said Wednesday he did not think Greenlanders wanted to separate from Denmark in order to instead become ‘’an integrated part of America.‘’

Løkke sought to strike an optimistic tone, saying he believed that Trump’s reference to respecting Greenlanders' right to self-determination was ‘’the most important part of that speech.‘’

‘‘I’m very optimistic about what will be a Greenlandic decision about this. They want to loosen their ties to Denmark, we’re working on that, to have a more equal relationship,‘’ the minister said during a trip to Finland, adding it was important that next week’s parliamentary elections are free and fair ‘’without any kind of international intervention.‘’

Greenlanders will head to the polls Tuesday. Trump’s recent comments about taking over the island have ignited unprecedented interest in full independence from Denmark, which has become a key issue during campaign season.

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Dazio reported from Berlin.