The outgoing prime minister of Greenland on Thursday said he would summon party leaders to strengthen their rejection of US President Donald Trump’s plan to annex the island territory, following his most recent comments on the issue.
In an Oval Office news briefing with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte earlier Thursday, the president expressed confidence the US takeover of Greenland “will happen.”
Responding to a question from a journalist about his vision to annex the territory, Trump said, “I think it will happen.”
“We need that for international security. Not just security, international,” he continued.
Rutte did not comment directly on Trump’s statement, saying he did not “want to drag NATO” into the issue.
However, he did acknowledge the importance of securing the Arctic region. “We know things are changing there, and we have to be there.”
Greenland’s prime minister, Mute Egede, hit back at Trump’s comments in a post on Facebook, saying, “The U.S. president has once again aired the thought of annexing us,” Reuters reported.
“Enough is enough,” he added.
Egede said he had requested to summon party leaders to intensify their rejection of Trump’s plan.
Jens-Frederik Nielsen, the leader of the island’s pro-business Demokraatit party – which won Greenland’s closely-watched parliamentary election Tuesday – also rejected the comments.
“Trump’s statement from the US is inappropriate and just shows once again that we must stand together in such situations,” Nielsen wrote on Facebook, according to Reuters.
Greenland’s election this week followed a race dominated both by Trump’s annexation threat and growing calls from residents for independence from Denmark.
Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to annex Greenland, home to about 57,000 people. All dominant parties in Greenland’s parliament have said they do not want the territory to become part of the United States.
Denmark ruled Greenland as a colony until 1953, when the island achieved greater powers of self-governance. Then, in 2009, it gained more powers pertaining to minerals, policing and courts of law. But Denmark still controls security, defense, foreign and monetary policy. Greenland also benefits from Denmark’s European Union and NATO memberships.
Trump’s idea to annex the territory threw an international spotlight onto the territory’s election and has raised questions about its security as the United States, Russia and China vie for influence in the Arctic.