Greenland's leader says he seeks independence from Denmark

Greenland should strive for independence from Denmark and to gain freedom of decision. In his New Year's address, the island nation's Prime Minister Mythe Egede said.

"History and current conditions have shown that our cooperation with Denmark has not resulted in full equality. It is time for us to move forward and build the future ourselves, including in terms of who we will work closely with and who will be our trading partners," Reuters quotes him as saying.

As noted in the publication, such a statement marked a significant change in rhetoric around the future of Greenland and relations with Denmark.

Until 1953, Greenland was a colony of Denmark.

Earlier, on December 22, 2024, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, announcing the appointment of an ambassador to Denmark, noted that for the United States "ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity." The American politician expressed interest in buying Greenland from Denmark back in 2019. At that time, he was turned down.

Deputies of the Danish Parliament, in turn, condemned Trump's words. They called the statement of the President-elect unacceptable and characterized it as a "cynical policy of a superpower".