Naaja Nathanielsen, Greenland's curate for industry, earthy materials, mining, energy, instrumentality enforcement and equality, addresses MPs astatine a gathering successful the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) room, successful the Houses of Parliament, Westminster, organised by the APPG for Greenland pursuing US threats to instrumentality implicit the territory.
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Greenlanders are "bewildered" by U.S. President Donald Trump's "devastating" bid to annex the Arctic island, its concern curate has told CNBC, arsenic the contented turns into a geopolitical firestorm.
Speaking to CNBC connected Tuesday up of Trump addressing the annual World Economic Forum successful Davos, Switzerland, Naaja Nathanielsen, curate for concern and mineral resources, described the planetary attraction arsenic "quite devastating" for galore of the astir 57,000 Greenlanders.
Asked however radical successful Greenland person been feeling amid Trump's pursuit of the island, Nathanielsen said: "People are worried, radical are afraid, radical are bewildered."
"[We have] ever considered ourselves arsenic an state of the U.S. and person tried to accommodate the needs from the U.S. implicit the years and done truthful happily," Nathanielsen said via video call.
"To each of a abrupt find ourselves successful the midst of a tempest that's astir acquiring america similar a merchandise oregon a property, it's truly hard for america — not to notation the threats of subject enactment and an existent concern of our country."
Her comments travel arsenic the U.S. president stepped up his efforts to get the self-governing Danish territory, which helium has claimed is "imperative" for U.S. nationalist security. On Monday, helium answered "no comment" erstwhile asked by NBC if he'd usage subject unit to prehend it.
"There tin beryllium nary going back," Trump said of his plans successful a societal media station connected Tuesday.
The U.S. president connected Saturday pledged to impose a rising question of tariffs connected 8 European countries from Feb. 1 for opposing the U.S. acquiring Greenland.
To each of a abrupt find ourselves successful the midst of a tempest that's astir acquiring america similar a merchandise oregon a property, it's truly hard for us."
Naaja Nathanielsen
Greenland's curate for concern and mineral resources
European governmental leaders person sought to propulsion back and are expected to clasp talks implicit however to respond successful the coming days. French President Emmanuel Macron connected Tuesday described Trump's tariff threats arsenic "fundamentally unacceptable," portion British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the determination "completely wrong."
Nathanielsen told CNBC she had been "really moved by the beardown amusement of solidarity" from European governmental leaders. "You cannot spell on with a strategy wherever you person to judge that an state occupies different ally," she said.
'A menace we person ne'er seen before'
Protests person taken spot successful Greenland's capital, Nuuk, and Denmark's Copenhagen successful caller days, with radical marching with reddish and achromatic Greenlandic flags.
Opinion polls have shown that Greenlanders overwhelmingly reason U.S. control, portion a beardown bulk enactment independency from Denmark.
People question Greenlandic flags arsenic they instrumentality portion successful a objection that gathered astir a 3rd of the metropolis colonisation to protestation against the US President's plans to instrumentality Greenland, connected January 17, 2026 successful Nuuk, Greenland.
Alessandro Rampazzo | Afp | Getty Images
Nathanielsen said: "We person ever known that our presumption successful the satellite geographically causes immoderate tensions. We're utilized to this. We utilized to beryllium a colony of Denmark. So, we're not we're not unfamiliar with complexity and contention and struggle — but we person ever recovered our ways to accommodate to the concern and enactment with it.
"And close now, I deliberation we're facing a menace we person ne'er seen before. So, I americium perfectly definite that were we to go occupied, that would mean the demolition of our culture. And I find that rather devastating."
Nathanielsen said the island's lawmakers would question much clarity connected however it tin accommodate the U.S. "without being swallowed up" by it.
"The menace of concern is devastating to us. It is perfectly not thing that we would beryllium capable to enactment with astatine all," Nathanielsen said.
"So, we bash not privation to beryllium bought. We person made that rather clear. Of course, we don't privation to beryllium occupied — what state successful the satellite we privation that? But we bash privation dialogue. We bash privation collaboration. And we bash privation to little the temperature," she added.
What adjacent for Greenland?
In 2009, Greenland was granted greater autonomy implicit its home affairs done the Self-Government Act, which besides gave the land the close to clasp an independency referendum. Denmark remains liable for its foreign, defence and information policies.
Most Greenlandic governmental parties enactment independency but disagree implicit erstwhile and however to scope it. The independency question has go a balancing enactment betwixt the island's eventual extremity of self-determination and the request for Denmark's fiscal enactment for indispensable services, specified arsenic wellness and education.
Speaking to CNBC earlier this month, Aaja Chemnitz, an MP representing Greenland successful the Danish Parliament, said Greenlanders wanted to "make definite that we're not dehumanized, which I deliberation we person been successful this full situation."
"The radical are resilient. And I deliberation it's important to retrieve that, of course, you can't bargain a country, but you tin besides not bargain a population," Chemnitz told CNBC connected Jan. 8.
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