Majority of Greenlanders don’t want to be American: poll

COPENHAGEN: The vast majority of Greenland residents do not want their island to become part of the United States as envisaged by President Donald Trump, according to a poll published on Wednesday.

Trump has signalled that he wants the Arctic island -- which is believed to hold large untapped mineral and oil reserves -- to become part of the United States.

The mercurial Republican, who returned to the White House in late January, argues his country needs the autonomous Danish territory for “international security” and has not ruled out the use of force or tariffs to annex it.

But when asked if they wanted to become part of the United States, 85 percent of Greenlanders said no, according to the poll published in the Danish Berlingske and Greenland´s Sermitsiaq dailies.

Six percent of those polled said they were in favour and nine percent were undecided, according to the poll conducted by the Verian agency.

“It´s the first poll that asked a representative section of Greenland´s population and I think this is very important,” Kasper Moller Hansen, a political science professor at the University of Copenhagen, told AFP.

“I think this poll shows very clearly that they do not want to be American,” he said.

Trump has talked for years about a possible deal to take control of the Danish autonomous territory.

On Saturday, he told reporters he believed that the United States would “get Greenland”, which is located between the United States and Europe in a region of increasing strategic value as the melting of Arctic sea ice opens up new shipping routes.

Around 45 percent of Greenlanders view Trump´s interest in their island as a “threat”, while 43 percent view it as an “opportunity” and 13 percent are undecided, according to the poll.

Trump´s fiery rhetoric meanwhile has set alarm bells ringing in Denmark, with officials in Greenland having long pushed for independence.

On Tuesday Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen visited Paris and Berlin to canvass backing from the European Union´s traditional powerhouses against Trump´s threats.

In mid-January, Frederiksen reportedly spoke to Trump by telephone, stressing that it was up to Greenland to determine its future.

According to European sources cited by the Financial Times, Danish officials described the conversation as “horrendous”, and that Trump´s interest in Greenland was “serious, and potentially very dangerous”.

Officials in Greenland have said they are open to doing business with the United States, including on its vast unexploited mining and oil drilling reserves.