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An overwhelming majority of Greenlanders have rejected US President Donald Trump, saying they do not want to be bought by America, according to an opinion poll.
The first survey of Greenlanders since Trump renewed his interest in buying the Arctic island found that 85 per cent did not want to leave the Kingdom of Denmark and become part of the US.
Just 6 per cent said they wanted to join the US, while 9 per cent were undecided, in the poll for Greenlandic newspaper Sermitsiaq and Danish daily Berlingske.
The survey comprised 497 people and was conducted online over the past week by the research firm Verian.
“Trump shouldn’t have Greenland. Greenland is Greenland,” said Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Denmark’s foreign minister, on Tuesday.
Trump’s interest in buying Greenland and his refusal to rule out military force or tariffs against Denmark to achieve his aim have thrust the world’s largest non-continental island and its 57,000 inhabitants into the geopolitical spotlight.
Múte Egede, Greenland’s prime minister, has repeatedly insisted the island is not for sale. “We don’t want to be Danish, we don’t want to be American — we want to be Greenlandic,” he said earlier this month.
Mette Frederiksen, Denmark’s prime minister, embarked on a whistle-stop tour of European leaders on Tuesday, visiting Germany’s Olaf Scholz, France’s Emmanuel Macron, and the Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte.
None mentioned Trump or his threat to seize Greenland publicly, in line with Danish requests for silence to avoid offending the US president.
But Frederiksen said at the end of the trip: “broadly, there is very, very great support for Denmark in this situation”.
Jean-Noël Barrot, France’s foreign minister, said Paris had discussed sending troops to Greenland but that “at this point, it is not Denmark’s wish”.
Five current and former senior European officials told the Financial Times last week that Trump had been aggressive and confrontational in a call with Frederiksen in which he insisted the US still wanted Greenland.
At the weekend, the US president said America would “get” Greenland. He said of Greenlanders: “I think the people want to be with us.”
Denmark and Greenland unveiled a sharp increase in military spending for the Arctic this week, including three new ships and two drones for the island.
Vivian Motzfeldt, Greenland’s foreign minister, told a press conference in Nuuk that it was important her country could look after itself.
“What we need to do is we need to ensure a tomorrow for us in this country. That is our most important responsibility,” she added.
But Trump ridiculed the spending at the weekend saying that “two dog sleds” — trailed by Denmark’s defence minister Troels Lund Poulsen as being part of the package, but not announced this week — was not enough protection for Greenland.
Greenland’s main military protection comes from a US military base in the far north. Politicians on the island as well as in Denmark have said they are open to America expanding its presence.
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