Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told Donald Trump that it was up to Greenland to decide its future.
The US President-elect caused unrest in Copenhagen and Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, last week when he indicated that the United States wanted to acquire the huge Arctic island, an autonomous region of Denmark.
In a 45-minute phone call on Wednesday, Frederiksen told Trump that Denmark was ready to increase its responsibility for security in the Arctic.
She also echoed comments by Greenland's Prime Minister, Miot Egede, who recently said Greenland was not for sale.
Trump did not return the call publicly. However, he reposted a 2019 poll on his TruthSocial account, which indicated that 68% of Greenlanders supported independence from Denmark.
An independence referendum is believed to be on the cards, and Denmark has said it will respect any outcome.
When Trump was last president, he said he wanted to buy Greenland. When Frederiksen called the suggestion “ridiculous,” he suddenly canceled a trip to Denmark.
Frederiksen also emphasized in her phone call with Trump that “Danish companies contribute to growth and jobs in the United States, and that the European Union and the United States have a common interest in promoting trade,” the Danish government said.
Last week, Trump threatened Denmark with high tariffs if it did not give up Greenland.
The proposal has set off alarm bells among Danish industry leaders, as the United States is the second largest market for Danish exports and any targeted tariffs would have a significant impact on the Danish economy.
On Thursday, Frederiksen will hold what Danish media called a “crisis meeting” with business leaders, including CEOs of beer giant Carlsberg and pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, which produces obesity and diabetes drugs popular in the United States.
It is also scheduled to host an extraordinary meeting of the Foreign Policy Council with members from across Parliament.
Aja Chemnitz, a member of the Greenlandic parliament, said she was satisfied with Frederiksen's position that any decision on Greenland should be made by Greenlanders.
“I have great confidence in the prime minister's mission, and I also have great confidence in Egedi. I think it is important that they have a close dialogue,” she said.
Earlier this week, Egedi said his government was ready to start a dialogue with the incoming Trump administration.
But opposition MP Rasmus Jarlov said he did not agree with Frederiksen's approach.
He wrote in
Trump's comments and his son's visit to Greenland last week raised great concern in Denmark. Faced with the prospect of angering what she repeatedly described as “Denmark's closest ally,” Frederiksen measured her words with an emphasis on Greenland's right to self-determination.
The fact that Trump devoted 45 minutes to a phone call with Frederiksen suggests that “the Greenland issue is really something that is on Trump’s mind — it’s not just a passing thought,” said TV2 political editor Hans Reeder.
