the island’s leader calls to “move forward” — RT in French

During his New Year’s speech, the Prime Minister of Greenland emphasized his desire to achieve independence from Denmark. Statements that come as Donald Trump has just reiterated his interest in “ownership and control” of this territory.

“Now is the time to take the next step forward for our country,” Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede said in his New Year speech. “Like other countries around the world, we must work to remove obstacles to cooperation – which we can describe as the chains of colonialism – and move forward,” he continued, according to comments reported on January 3 by Reuters.

“Work to create the conditions for an independent Greenland has already begun,” he also stressed.

“It is necessary to take important measures… The next electoral period must, with citizens, create these new steps,” he added, according to Politicowho perceives an implication regarding the holding of a referendum during the next parliamentary elections which must take place by the beginning of April.

An autonomous territory of Denmark since 1953, Greenland can declare its independence under an agreement in 2009. An independence it can only declare after a successful referendum.

“Ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,” says Trump

Donald Trump recently renewed his interest in acquiring Greenland. “For the purposes of national security and freedom throughout the world, the United States of America believes that ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,” he said on Truth Social on December 22.

“Greenland is ours,” Mute Egede declared the next day on Facebook. “We are not for sale and never will be,” he continued. Before adding: “Not everything can happen in Denmark.”

“We do not comment on comments,” said Anouar El Anouni, spokesperson for the European Union for foreign affairs and security policy, quoted by Politico who recalled that the island was largely populated by “EU citizens”. In fact, only 2,000 of its 57,000 inhabitants “are not Danish”.

“Greenland is Greenlandic,” says Danish Prime Minister

The president-elect of the United States, who is due to take office on January 20, has already expressed his interest in acquiring Greenland in the past. “The concept came up and I said that strategically, it’s certainly interesting and that we would be interested,” Trump told reporters on August 18, 2019, specifying that it was not “the number one priority” .

A few days earlier, the Wall Street Journal had revealed that the real estate mogul had “repeatedly shown interest in purchasing” the island.

“I don’t want to predict the outcome of the case. I’m simply saying that the president, who knows a little about purchasing real estate, wants to take a look at purchasing Greenland,” the economic advisor to the Commission told Fox News the same day. White House Larry Kudlow, calling Greenland a “strategic location” with “many valuable minerals.”

“An absurd discussion,” said Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen from Greenland, to the weekly Sermitsiaq. “Greenland is not Danish. Greenland is Greenlandic,” she added.