NUUK, Greenland (AP) 鈥� Greenland鈥檚 party leaders have rejected President Donald Trump鈥檚 repeated of the island, saying that Greenland鈥檚 future must be decided by its people.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to be Americans, we don鈥檛 want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders,鈥� Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and four party leaders said in a statement Friday night.
Trump said again on Friday that he would like to make a semiautonomous region that鈥檚 part of , 鈥渢he easy way.鈥� He said that if the U.S. doesn鈥檛 own it, then Russia or China will take it over, and the U.S. does not want them as neighbors.
鈥淚f we don鈥檛 do it the easy way, we鈥檙e going to do it the hard way,鈥� Trump said, without explaining what that entailed. The White House said it is considering a range of options, including using military force, to acquire the island.
Greenland’s party leaders reiterated that 鈥淕reenland鈥檚 future must be decided by the Greenlandic people.鈥�
鈥淎s Greenlandic party leaders, we would like to emphasize once again our wish that the United States鈥� contempt for our country ends,鈥� the statement said.
Officials from Denmark, Greenland and the United States met Thursday in Washington and will meet again next week to discuss the for the control of the island.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that an American takeover of Greenland would mark .
The party leaders’ statement said that 鈥渢he work on Greenland鈥檚 future takes place in dialogue with the Greenlandic people and is prepared on the basis of international laws.鈥�
鈥淣o other country can interfere in this,鈥� they said. 鈥淲e must decide the future of our country ourselves, without pressure for quick decision, delay or interference from other countries.鈥�
The statement was signed by Nielsen, Pele Broberg, M煤te B. Egede, Aleqa Hammond and Aqqalu C. Jerimiassen.
While Greenland is the largest island in the world, it has a population of around 57,000 and doesn鈥檛 have its own military. Defense is provided by Denmark, whose military is dwarfed by that of the U.S.
It鈥檚 unclear how the remaining NATO members would respond if the U.S. decided to forcibly take control of the island or if they would come to Denmark鈥檚 aid.
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