Greenlanders are “bewildered” by U.S. President Donald Trump’s “devastating” bid to annex the Arctic island, its business minister has told CNBC, as the issue turns into a geopolitical firestorm.
Speaking to CNBC on Tuesday ahead of Trump addressing the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Naaja Nathanielsen, minister for business and mineral resources, described the international attention as “quite devastating” for many of the roughly 57,000 Greenlanders.
Asked how people in Greenland have been feeling amid Trump’s pursuit of the island, Nathanielsen said: “People are worried, people are afraid, people are bewildered.”
″[We have] always considered ourselves as an ally of the U.S. and have tried to accommodate the needs from the U.S. over the years and done so happily,” Nathanielsen said via video call.
“To all of a sudden find ourselves in the midst of a storm that’s about acquiring us like a product or a property, it’s really difficult for us — not to mention the threats of military action and an actual occupation of our country.”
