NUUK, Greenland (AP) — Greenland's party leaders have rejected President Donald Trump's repeatedcalls for the U.S. to take controlof the island, saying that Greenland's future must be decided by its people.
"We don't want to be Americans, we don't want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders," 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 makea deal to acquire Greenland,a semiautonomous region that's part ofNATO ally Denmark, "the easy way." He said that if the U.S. doesn't own it, then Russia or China will take it over, and the U.S. does not want them as neighbors.
"If we don't do it the easy way, we're going to do it the hard way," 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 "Greenland's future must be decided by the Greenlandic people."
"As Greenlandic party leaders, we would like to emphasize once again our wish that the United States' contempt for our country ends," the statement said.
Officials from Denmark, Greenland and the United States met Thursday in Washington and will meet again next week to discuss therenewed push by the White Housefor the control of the island.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that an American takeover of Greenland would markthe end of NATO.
The party leaders' statement said that "the work on Greenland's future takes place in dialogue with the Greenlandic people and is prepared on the basis of international laws."
"No other country can interfere in this," they said. "We must decide the future of our country ourselves, without pressure for quick decision, delay or interference from other countries."
The statement was signed by Nielsen, Pele Broberg, Múte 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't have its own military. Defense is provided by Denmark, whose military is dwarfed by that of the U.S.
It's 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's aid.
