Greenland opposition leader Pele Broberg said he does not believe the United States will invade the Arctic territory, urging calm and diplomacy after President Donald Trump suggested Washington could take control of the island “the easy way or the hard way.”
In an interview with RTÉ Radio’s This Week, Broberg, who leads the Naleraq party, said an invasion “would not make any sense from anyone’s logical point of view, be they from the US, Russia, China or Denmark.” He added: “I believe that diplomacy and dialogue will win in the end.”
- Advertisement -
His comments followed a rare joint statement by all five parties in Greenland’s parliament, including Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen, condemning recent American rhetoric as “extremely disrespectful” and saying they “strongly oppose” any US takeover. The united front underscored a common position in Nuuk: Greenland’s future will be decided by Greenlanders.
Trump on Friday escalated tensions by framing a potential move on Greenland as inevitable. “We are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not,” he said, arguing the United States needs to own the territory to prevent Russia or China from gaining ground there and that existing military agreements are insufficient.
Broberg pushed back on both tone and substance, calling media and political reactions “hysteria” and questioning the military logic of talk about NATO forces or paratroopers in Greenland. “Even NATO allies talk about the lack of realism in having paratroopers in Greenland because it doesn’t make sense,” he said. He added that areas most vulnerable to Chinese or Russian influence are remote stretches of the east coast “where nobody, or almost nobody, lives,” not population centers.
Broberg said his initial reaction to the White House’s suggestion that force could be used was: “Here we go again, where the media takes everything and blows it out of proportion and doesn’t wait for the proper diplomatic channels to figure out, is that literally? Or is that just posturing or negotiations tactics?” He said no one from the Trump administration has contacted him.
While Broberg has previously urged Greenland to bypass Copenhagen and negotiate directly with Washington, he emphasized that the island’s aim is self-determination — not a change of flag. “Greenlanders want to be Greenlanders,” he said. “We are currently Danish but none of us wants to be a US or Danish citizen.”
Greenland’s political parties, despite differences on timing and tactics, broadly share two goals: independence in the long term and a modernized security relationship with the United States. All five support replacing the US-Denmark defense arrangement established in 1951 with a new agreement that formally recognizes Greenland’s role and rights. “Why not just let us have a defence agreement or a security arrangement with the US?” Broberg said.
A 2009 self-rule framework between Greenland and Denmark explicitly recognizes Greenlanders’ right to independence if they choose it by referendum. Leaders in Nuuk have repeatedly called for diplomacy grounded in “mutual respect” and “equality and partnership,” and warned that no outside power — “big or small” — can change Greenland’s right to determine its future.
For now, Broberg argued, the priority is to dial down rhetoric and get back to talks. “I don’t think in the end this hysteria will prevail,” he said. “I actually believe that diplomacy and dialogue will win in the end.”
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
