Greenland’s prime minister warned that the United States still seeks control over the Arctic island despite former U.S. President Donald Trump’s pledge to forgo the use of force, sharpening tensions that have pulled in Denmark, NATO allies and Greenland’s Indigenous communities.
Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the U.S. continues to pursue “paths to ownership and control over Greenland,” even as Trump has backed away from threats of military action. Trump intensified calls for U.S. control at the start of the year, citing national security concerns tied to Russia and China. Several European NATO members responded by publicly defending Denmark’s sovereignty over Greenland and cautioning that U.S. pressure risked fracturing the alliance.
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Trump has since said he secured total U.S. access to Greenland through a NATO deal, though details remain unclear. Nielsen argued that the pressure campaign itself is unacceptable and is exacting a human toll, particularly on families and children.
“Some of our compatriots have severe sleep problems, children feel the worry and anxiety of adults, and we all live with constant uncertainty about what may happen tomorrow,” he said. “We want to say it very clearly: This is completely unacceptable.”
Greenland’s government said last week it had launched a nationwide survey of the population’s mental health at a time of “extraordinary pressure.” The move underscores how a geopolitical contest over the Arctic has spilled into everyday life in Greenland, where residents are living with heightened uncertainty as world powers jockey for influence in the North Atlantic.
Diplomatic talks among the United States, Denmark and Greenland began last week, with senior officials meeting to “discuss how we can address American concerns about security in the Arctic while respecting the Kingdom’s red lines,” Denmark’s Foreign Ministry said. Nielsen praised Denmark as a close partner throughout the crisis. He has previously said that if Greenlanders were forced to choose between the United States and Denmark, they would choose Denmark. His latest remarks made no mention of independence for Greenland.
The sovereignty debate collides with longstanding cultural values among Greenland’s Inuit population. Under Greenlandic law, people can own houses but not the land beneath them, a reflection of the Inuit concept of collective land stewardship. That approach to land stands in stark contrast to the notion of foreign ownership or external control, which many residents regard as incompatible with their traditions and community life.
Nielsen’s warning comes as the Arctic rises in strategic importance. Melting sea ice is opening potential shipping routes and access to mineral resources, drawing fresh interest from Washington, Moscow and Beijing. U.S. officials have framed their posture as necessary to counter Russia’s military presence in the High North and China’s growing economic footprint. Greenland’s leaders, however, say sovereignty is not up for negotiation and that security cooperation must respect the autonomy granted to the island within the Kingdom of Denmark.
While the contours of Trump’s claimed NATO deal remain unknown, the political reverberations are clear. Tensions have tested unity within NATO and forced a small Arctic nation of roughly 56,000 people to absorb an outsized geopolitical shock. For now, Greenland, Denmark and the United States are attempting to manage differences through diplomacy—while Greenland’s government tries to shield its people from the psychological strain of being at the center of a global power struggle.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
