Greenland’s prime minister and foreign minister say U.S. talks are moving forward but that Greenland will never be for sale, after Trump’s special envoy Jeff Landry met Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Mute Egede in Nuuk.
For Greenland, the meeting in Nuuk landed with a message that left little room for interpretation. As President Donald Trump’s push for American control keeps raising alarms in Europe and Washington. Greenland’s leaders told reporters after talks with U.S. envoy Jeff Landry that the island will not be sold.
Landry, appointed by Trump last year as a special envoy to push for American control of Greenland, arrived in Nuuk on Sunday and met on Monday with Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Foreign Minister Mute Egede.
“We believe there is progress, and from Greenland’s side we are focused on finding a solution that is good for us all, and most importantly that threats of annexation, takeover or a purchase of Greenland and the Greenlandic people does not occur,” Nielsen said after the meeting.
Landry did not offer an immediate statement. He had told local media on Sunday that he was in Greenland to “listen and learn.”
Egede later spelled out the limits of any negotiation. “They asked for a meeting, and we’ve explained our situation and standpoint, and that we have some red lines – we will not sell Greenland, we will own Greenland for all time,” he said.
The visit takes place against a backdrop of fresh tension tied directly to Trump’s claim that the United States must acquire or control Greenland. a semi-autonomous Danish territory. The dispute has strained relations between Washington and Copenhagen. which are both founding NATO members. and has fed broader unease across Europe.
Seeking to lower the temperature earlier this year, Greenland, Denmark, and the United States agreed to hold high-level diplomatic negotiations to resolve the crisis, with the outcome of those talks still not presented.
The U.S. has also signaled its intent to expand its role in Greenland, including by boosting its military presence and making it part of Trump’s planned “Golden Dome” system of defence against nuclear attack.
Today, the United States has one active base in Greenland, the Pituffik Space Base in the northwest. That is a sharp reduction from around 17 facilities in 1945, when thousands of U.S. personnel staffed sites across the island.
As Landry met Greenland’s top officials, the central point from Nuuk was unmistakable: progress in talks may be possible, but the island’s leadership says the idea of a purchase will not move forward.
Greenland United States Jeff Landry Donald Trump Jens-Frederik Nielsen Mute Egede Golden Dome NATO Pituffik Space Base