(AFP) – Greenlanders were sceptical on Wednesday following US President Donald Trump’s announcement that he had settled the question of the Arctic island’s future. Following weeks of increasingly bellicose rhetoric surrounding his desire to seize the autonomous Danish territory, Trump said at Davos that he had reached a framework of a deal that satisfies him, without providing details.
Several Greenlanders interviewed by AFP in the capital Nuuk voiced doubt when they heard the news — or refused to believe it. “Quite simply a lie. He’s lying,” said 47-year-old technician Mickel Nielsen. “I don’t believe a word he says, and I don’t think I’m the only one,” he added. Trump said he had reached an agreement during talks with NATO chief Mark Rutte, but offered few details and was conspicuously silent on whether the deal would mean US control over the Arctic island, which he has repeatedly demanded.
The head of the transatlantic military alliance for his part said the conversation had been “very productive,” according to NATO spokesperson Allison Hart. Allies would discuss the framework which addresses Trump’s claims that the island is not protected from Russia or China, she said. “Negotiations between Denmark, Greenland, and the United States will go forward aimed at ensuring that Russia and China never gain a foothold — economically or militarily — in Greenland,” she said.
But the island’s inhabitants remained unconvinced. “Trump? I don’t believe him,” said care worker Anak, 64. “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders.” Miki, using a fake name, said the US leader’s declaration was “hard to believe.” “He can say something and two minutes later he says completely the opposite.”
“NATO has absolutely no right to negotiate anything without us, Greenland. Nothing about us without us,” reacted Greenlandic MP Aaja Chenmitz, one of the two elected representatives of Greenland in the Danish parliament. “And for NATO to have a say in our country and our minerals is completely insane,” she added. According to a January 2025 poll, 85 percent of Greenlanders oppose joining the United States, with only six percent in favour.
© 2024 AFP
