Greenland tells Trump it is not for sale

Greenland has reiterated that it is not available for purchase, following comments from President-elect Donald Trump expressing interest in acquiring the territory.

On Monday, the prime minister stated, "Greenland is for the people of Greenland." This came a day after Trump reiterated his previous remarks about the Arctic territory, which he first made years ago.

Greenland, an autonomous region of Denmark, hosts a significant US space center and is situated on the most direct path from the US to Europe, making it strategically vital for the United States.

Denmark did not respond right away to Trump's remarks.

In a post on his social media site, Truth Social, on Sunday, the president-elect of the United States stated, "To ensure national security and promote freedom globally, it is crucial for the United States to own and control Greenland."

His remarks elicited a strong response from Greenland's Prime Minister Mute Egede, who asserted, "We are not up for grabs, and we will never be."

"We cannot give up on our hard-won battle for freedom. At the same time, we should remain open to collaborating and trading with everyone around the globe, particularly with those who are close to us," he stated.

Trump's provocative comments were made shortly after he revealed his plan to nominate Ken Howery, his ex-ambassador to Sweden, as the next ambassador to Denmark.

Mr. Howery expressed that he was "truly honored" to receive the nomination and was eager to collaborate with the personnel at the US embassy in Copenhagen and the US consulate in Greenland to strengthen the connections between our nations.

In 2019, Trump proposed the idea of the United States purchasing Greenland, the largest island on the planet. This proposal was met with a strong backlash from the leaders of Greenland.

At that time, the Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who is still in office, called the proposal "ridiculous," which prompted Trump to scrap his planned state visit to Denmark.

He isn't the first American president to propose purchasing Greenland. The suggestion was initially brought up in the 1860s during Andrew Johnson's presidency.

On Sunday, Donald Trump made a statement about taking back control of the Panama Canal, which is a vital shipping route. He claimed that Panama is imposing unfairly high charges for using the canal.

The president of Panama later stated that "every inch" of the canal and its nearby regions was under the ownership of his nation.