Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen strongly dismissed speculation on Friday that Greenland would become a part of the United States, after US President Donald Trump hinted at the possibility of an American annexation of the island.
In response to the recent election in Greenland, Rasmussen explained that the outcome should not be interpreted as a step toward independence or integration with the US.
If I interpret the result of Greenland's election correctly, the island will probably stay within the Danish Commonwealth for the foreseeable future," Rasmussen said. "It is a relationship that needs to be renewed and modernized, and I look forward to working together to further develop Greenland's economy.
He also brushed aside suggestions that Greenlanders were trying to cut ties with Denmark. "I have seen no indication from the election returns that Greenland wants to break away from the Commonwealth in order to become American," he said.
Trump, in comments on Thursday while meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office, said he was confident the United States would ultimately annex Greenland, referring to Denmark as "very far away" from the island even though it is an autonomous territory within Danish control.
Rutte shrugged off the issue, saying that talks on Greenland's future were outside his authority and that NATO should not be engaged, as reported by Xinhua news agency.
Greenland, the globe's biggest island, hosts around 60,000 inhabitants. It had been a colony of Denmark when it became part of Denmark itself in 1953, extending citizenship to Greenlanders. It gained home rule in 1979, when its autonomy increased with Denmark taking control of the country's foreign affairs and defense policy.
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