Greenland to Trump: Not for Sale but Let’s Talk Business

Greenland is ready to talk.

Responding on Monday to the diplomatic earthquake set off last week by President-elect Donald J. Trump, who mused about taking over the gigantic island in the Arctic Ocean, Greenland’s prime minister said the territory would like to work more closely with the United States on defense and natural resources.

“The reality is we are going to work with the U.S. — yesterday, today and tomorrow,” Prime Minister Múte Egede said at a news conference in Nuuk, Greenland’s tiny, icebound capital.

But he was firm: Greenlanders did not want to become Americans.

“We have to be very smart on how we act,” he said, adding, “The power struggles between the superpowers are rising and are now knocking on our door.”

Mr. Trump refused to rule out using economic or military force to wrest back the Panama Canal and to take Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of Denmark that he suggested buying during his first term in office. Then, as now, Greenland and Denmark said the island was not for sale. Panama’s leaders, too, rejected the threat.

Mr. Egede said on Monday that “all of us were shocked” by Mr. Trump’s words, which were accentuated by a surprising and somewhat mysterious visit by the president-elect’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., to the island on the same day.

The younger Mr. Trump did a lightning-fast sightseeing tour, saying he was on private business, and since then, headlines around the world have blared Greenland.

Most of Greenland’s territory is covered in ice, only about 56,000 people live here and, until recently, the island was best known for its icebergs and polar bears. As climate change melts the Arctic ice, this region has been quietly falling into the cross hairs of the world’s powers.

The United States, Russia, European countries, China and others have been eyeing the Arctic’s shipping lanes and the extensive mineral resources that are no longer considered out of reach.

The island has been tied to Denmark for centuries, first as a colony and now as a separate territory that has achieved a large degree of autonomy in recent years. Denmark still controls the island’s foreign affairs and defense policy.

But the surge of interest by international powers dovetails with Greenland’s quest to gain independence, and that itch has only grown stronger. At the same time, many people here are reluctant to completely cut ties with Denmark because of the hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies that Denmark provides each year.

In Nuuk, which was a sunny zero degrees Fahrenheit on Monday afternoon, many people were eagerly waiting to hear what the prime minister was going to say.

“Whatever happens, there’s no turning back,” said Aviaq Kleist, the owner of a cafe in the Nuuk Center, the city’s biggest mall, with a couple dozen shops. She joked that maybe Mr. Egede would suddenly declare independence.

Mr. Egede did not — he danced around the question, saying the country had been steadily working toward the goal but that “different parties have different views.” (There’s also a clear independence process that involves a referendum, should it come to that.)

The prime minister also expressed relief at comments that JD Vance, the incoming vice president, made on a Fox News show this weekend. Though Mr. Vance didn’t exactly rule out military force, saying, “We don’t have to use military force” because “we already have troops in Greenland,” his tone was upbeat as he spoke about Greenland’s “incredible natural resources” and “a deal to be made.”

The United States has been interested in Greenland for years. During World War II, it established bases here, and after the war, it tried to buy Greenland from Denmark, which refused. Today, the American military runs the Pituffik Space Base, which specializes in missile defense, at the northern end of the island.

In Nuuk on Monday, people seemed to be on the same page as the prime minister, expressing a mix of hope and caution. Several said they did not want to be swallowed by the United States. But they did want a stronger partnership with America.

“What we really need is more cooperation and trade,” said Nielseeraq Berthelsen, a fisherman. He was working at an ice-encrusted seafood market, selling hunks of whale skin and bright red seal meat.

He said that he was walking through another mall last week when someone approached him out of the blue and invited him to a special dinner.

Next thing he knew, he said, he was shaking the younger Mr. Trump’s hand.

“He had a lot of enthusiasm,” said Mr. Berthelsen, who was standing in air so cold that his eyes watered as he talked. “He had good energy.”

Ivik Kristiansen contributed reporting.