- Greenland rejects US control, seeking to chart its own future independently
- US interest in Greenland includes military, natural resources, and ideological aims
- US-Denmark-Greenland talks on control of Greenland have failed to reach agreement
Greenland's Minister for Business, Trade, Mineral Resources, Justice and Gender Equality, Naaja Nathanielsen, has said that Greenland does not want to become part of the United States and stressed that the people of the Arctic island want to chart their own course.
She said that while Greenland values its relationship with Washington, it does not see its future as American. Greenland, she said, has long acted as a US ally, welcoming American investment and acknowledging the need for heightened monitoring and security in the Arctic region. However, recent developments have left many Greenlanders unsettled.
"So it's very difficult right now for Greenlanders to figure out what is at play here, because we feel to some extent that we are betrayed by a great partner that we have relied on for many years," Nathanielsen said.
In an interview with NDTV's Vishnu Som, she noted that Greenlanders broadly support a stronger European and NATO presence in the Arctic, viewing it as beneficial not only from a military standpoint but also in terms of broader public and strategic engagement. However, she cautioned that a US attack on Greenland would have far-reaching consequences, saying it "would definitely change the existing world order as we know it".
Addressing US President Donald Trump's repeated assertions about Greenland's strategic value, Nathanielsen said the motivations behind such interest could be multifaceted. "I think there can be a military interest, I think there can be an interest regarding our natural resources, but I also think that could be a more ideological one, maybe driven by expansionism," she said when asked whether US interest was rooted in defence concerns, competition with Russia and China, or access to minerals.
Her comments come amid heightened diplomatic activity involving Greenland, Denmark and the United States. Senior officials from all three have held face-to-face discussions over Trump's stated ambition to take control of Greenland, which is a semiautonomous territory under Danish sovereignty.
At the same time, Denmark, along with several European allies, has begun deploying troops to the island, an unmistakable signal aimed at strengthening security across the strategically critical Arctic territory.
Following meetings in Washington with Greenlandic representatives, US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen acknowledged that talks had failed to bridge the gap between the sides. He said a "fundamental disagreement" persisted, adding that "we didn't manage to change the American position," though he admitted he had not expected to.
Trump has repeatedly argued that US control of Greenland is essential for American national security. He has justified this stance by claiming that both China and Russia are seeking to expand their influence over the island, which is believed to hold vast, largely untapped reserves of critical minerals vital for future technologies and defence needs.
