Greenland is looking to deepen cooperation with the United States and there is no reason to fear an imminent American takeover, Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said on Monday after renewed interest in the Arctic island from President Donald Trump.
European powers rallied behind Greenland on Monday, after the U.S. military operation in which Venezuela's leader was seized, rekindling concerns that the island, an autonomous Danish territory, might face a similar scenario.
"We are not in the situation where we are thinking that a takeover of the country might happen overnight," Nielsen said at a press conference in the capital Nuuk, speaking via a translator. "You cannot compare Greenland to Venezuela. We are a democratic country." Trump, who said the U.S. was taking temporary control of oil-producing Venezuela, has said repeatedly he wants to take over Greenland and told The Atlantic magazine on Sunday: "We do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defense."
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One early on Monday, Trump said he would revisit the topic in a few weeks.
In a Facebook post late on Sunday, Nielsen said: "Enough is enough... No more fantasies about annexation."
