We don't want to be Americans, says Greenland PM Egede

Egede made his comments in reaction to US President Donald Trump, who reiterated his desire to make Greenland, currently a semi-autonomous territory of the kingdom of Denmark, part of the United States.

Copenhagen: Greenland's Prime Minister Mute Egede said on Wednesday that the Greenlandic people will determine their own future and do not want to be Danes nor Americans.

Egede made his comments in reaction to US President Donald Trump, who on Tuesday reiterated his desire to make Greenland, currently a semi-autonomous territory of the kingdom of Denmark, part of the United States.

"We do not want to be Americans, nor Danes, we are Kalaallit (Greenlanders). The Americans and their leader must understand that," Egede said in a post on Facebook.

"We are not for sale and cannot be taken. Our future is determined by us in Greenland," he added.

The Greenland government is currently in a caretaker period leading up to an election scheduled for March 11. The campaign is centered primarily on the island's independence aspirations in light of Trump's interest.

Denmark's foreign minister said earlier on Wednesday that it was significant that Trump had recognised Greenland's right to self-determination in his address to Congress.

Opinion polls suggest that most Greenlanders oppose joining the United States, although a majority favour eventual independence from Denmark. The Danish government has said the Arctic island must decide its own future and is not for sale.

"(Trump) said (they) respect the right to Greenlandic self-determination, and that I think was the most important part of that speech," Danish foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told a press conference in Helsinki on Wednesday.