Greenland’s head of government, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, warned in a parliamentary address that the fundamental U.S. objective remains control over the Arctic territory even though the use of military force has been taken off the table.
Speaking via a translator, Nielsen said that the United States continues to view Greenland and its inhabitants in a manner that, in his words, aims to bind the island to the U.S. and place governance under American influence. He told lawmakers that Washington is still pursuing "paths to ownership and control over Greenland."
The remarks came against the backdrop of a push by U.S. President Donald Trump earlier in the year for increased U.S. control of Greenland. At that time, the president cited national security concerns linked to Russia and China. Those concerns, the article states, raised the risk of fracturing the NATO alliance.
Since those initial calls, the president has moved away from explicit threats of military action. He has asserted that a NATO agreement secured complete U.S. access to Greenland, although the reportage notes that the specifics of that claim were not made clear.
Nielsens comments underscore a continuing tension between Greenlandic authorities and statements from Washington about the islands future status. In his parliamentary speech he emphasized that the prevailing U.S. perspective, as he described it, remains one where Greenland is closely tied to and effectively governed from the United States.
Beyond the direct statements, the reporting indicates two parallel threads: a public retreat by the U.S. from threats of force and an ongoing pursuit by the U.S. of arrangements the Greenlandic prime minister characterizes as seeking ownership and control. The article does not provide additional details about what specific mechanisms the U.S. might be pursuing or about any formal agreements beyond the president's assertion regarding NATO.
Questions about the precise nature of the claimed NATO deal and what "total U.S. access" entails remain unanswered in the material provided. The reporting limits itself to the prime minister's warnings and the president's statements as described, without further elaboration on practical steps or legal changes.