‘Greenland deserves respect’: PM Egede slams Trump rhetoric on US interest in island

Greenland's PM said because of the US president's behaviour, the people of the island don't want to get close to the country.

Published on: Mar 10, 2025, 15:38:07 IST

By HT News Desk

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Greenland's Prime Minister Mute Egede said on Monday that US President Donald Trump has not treated Greenlanders with respect since his renewed push to assimilate the vast, mineral-rich Arctic island into the United States.

Greenland Prime Minister Mute B. Egede leaves after a parliament session at Greenland's parliament Inatsisartut in Nuuk. (Reuters file photo)

Egede said the people of Greenland must be treated with respect, which Trump hasn't done so far. He said because of the US president's behaviour, the people of the island don't want to get close to the country.

"We deserve to be treated with respect, and I don't think the U.S. president has done that recently since he took office. I think that the recent things the American president has been doing means that people don't want to get as close to (the U.S.) as they might have wanted in the past," he was quoted as saying by Reuters.

"We need to draw a line in the sand and put more effort into (cultivating relations with) the countries that show us respect for the future we want to build," he added.

Also read: Greenland dismisses Trump pledge to make the island American, PM Mute Egede says US ‘must understand…’

Egede has repeatedly said that Greenland, whose population is only 57,000, belongs to its people and that it should decide on its future.

Greenland is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. Since Trump became the President of the US for the second time, he has been making promises of riches to Greenland.

Also read: US will get it 'one way or the other': Donald Trump on Greenland

Donald Trump says US will keep Greenland safe

On Monday, he wrote on Truth Social that the US would keep Greenland safe.

"We will continue to keep you safe, as we have since World War II. We are ready to invest billions of dollars to create new jobs and make you rich," he wrote.

The island, whose capital Nuuk is closer to New York than the Danish capital Copenhagen, is rich in mineral, oil and natural gas wealth. However, the island lags in development.

Earlier this month, Trump said the US would get Greenland one way or the other.

"We strongly support your right to determine your own future, and if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America...One way or the other we're going to get it," he added.

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