Greenland PM says US has not changed its stance on acquiring territory

Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said Monday that Washington has not abandoned its ambition to acquire the island, even as he reaffirmed that Greenland is not for sale — remarks made after a meeting with US Special Envoy Jeff Landry, who arrived in Nuuk without an official invitation.

The diplomatic standoff underscores the deepening geopolitical contest over the Arctic, where the Trump administration has repeatedly signaled its intent to bring Greenland under US control, citing security concerns about Chinese and Russian influence — a position Greenlandic officials say remains fully intact despite ongoing working-group negotiations.

Nielsen said the talks proceeded in a respectful atmosphere but yielded no change in positions on either side. "It was a constructive meeting, where we were able to engage in dialogue in a positive spirit and with great mutual respect," Nielsen told a media conference, according to the Korea Times. He then drew a hard boundary: "We clearly reiterated that the people of Greenland are not for sale and that Greenlanders have the right to self-determination. This is not a subject for negotiation."

Landry — the governor of Louisiana and Trump's special envoy to Greenland — arrived in Nuuk leading a delegation of roughly 10 people, including a physician tasked with evaluating Greenlandic health needs, the Korea Times reported. Trump had told Landry to "go over there and make a bunch of new friends," according to the report. The envoy arrived without an official invitation from Greenlandic authorities.

Greenland's Foreign Minister Mute Egede signaled that neither party had budged. "We have our red line. The Americans' starting point has not changed either," Egede told reporters. He added that discussions would remain within the established bilateral framework: "Talks are taking place within the working group. We are not going to have parallel discussions."

The presence of a doctor in Landry's delegation drew sharp criticism from Greenlandic Health Minister Anna Wangenheim. In a post to LinkedIn cited by the Korea Times, Wangenheim called it "deeply problematic that people whose political mission is to make Greenland part of the United States are sending a so-called 'volunteer doctor' to Nuuk to 'assess our needs.'" She wrote: "Greenlanders are not guinea pigs in a geopolitical project."

The visit comes after Trump backed down from threats of military seizure in January following fierce resistance from NATO allies, leading to the formation of a US-Greenland working group. Greenlanders staged a protest at the airport with Greenlandic flags upon Landry's arrival, TV2, the Danish broadcaster, reported. Nielsen made his government's view plain on Facebook: "That will be 'no thanks' from us."

Denmark, which holds formal sovereignty over Greenland under international law, has been without a functioning government since a March 24 election, leaving the Kingdom without a unified diplomatic front as US pressure continues.

With the US-Greenland working group still active and neither side showing signs of movement, the Arctic sovereignty dispute appears set to remain a persistent fault line in transatlantic relations for the foreseeable future.