Greenland’s Minister for Industry, Raw Materials, Mining, Energy, Law Enforcement and Equality, Naaja Nathanielsen, addresses MPs at a meeting in the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) room at the Houses of Parliament, Westminster, organized by the APPG for Greenland, following threats of a US takeover of the territory.
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Greenlanders US President Donald Trump’s “catastrophic” move to annex an Arctic island is “disastrous”, his business secretary told CNBC, as the issue becomes a geopolitical rift.
ahead of Trump’s speech to CNBC on Tuesday annual World Economic Forum In Davos, Switzerland, Business and Mineral Resources Minister Naadja Nathanielsen described the international attention as “very devastating” for many of Greenland’s roughly 57,000 residents.
Asked how people in Greenland feel about Trump’s push for the island, Nathanielsen said: “People are worried, people are scared, people are confused.”
“(We’ve) always considered ourselves an ally of the United States and for many years we’ve tried to meet the needs of the United States and we’ve been happy to do so,” Nathanielsen said via video call.
“It’s really difficult for us to suddenly find ourselves in the middle of a storm about taking products or property — not to mention the threat of military action and actual invasion of our country.”
His announcement came as the US president ramped up efforts to annex the self-governing Danish territory. “imperative” to US national security.. On Monday, he said he had “no comment” when asked by NBC if military force would be used to capture him.
“There’s no going back,” Trump said of his plans in a social media post on Tuesday.
The US president promised on Saturday introduce a wave of tariff hikes Eight European countries since February 1 for opposing the US annexation of Greenland.
It’s very difficult for us to suddenly find ourselves in the middle of a storm looking to buy something like a product or a property.”
Naaja Nathanielsen
Minister of Business and Mineral Resources of Greenland
European political leaders tried to push back and is expected to hold talks on how to respond in the coming days. French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday described Trump’s tariff threats as “fundamentally unacceptable”, while British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the move “absolutely wrong”.
Nathanielsen told CNBC that he was “very impressed by the strong cooperation” of European political leaders. “You can’t go with a scheme where you have to accept that an ally is taking over another ally,” he said.
“A Threat We’ve Never Seen Before”
In recent days, people holding red and white Greenlandic flags have held protests in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, and Copenhagen, Denmark.
There is an opinion poll shown A large majority of Greenlanders oppose US control, and a large majority support independence from Denmark.
People wave Greenlandic flags during a demonstration in Nuuk, Greenland, on January 17, 2026, where nearly a third of the city’s population gathered to protest the US president’s plan to invade Greenland.
Alessandro Rampazzo | Afp | Getty Images
Nathanielsen said: “We have always known that our geographical position in the world creates some tensions. We are used to it. We used to be a colony of Denmark. So we are no strangers to complexity, contradictions and conflicts, but we have always found ways to adapt and work with the situation.
“And right now, I think we’re facing a threat like we’ve never seen before. So I’m pretty sure if we were to invade, it would mean the destruction of our culture. And I think that would be devastating.”
Nathanielsen said the island’s lawmakers are looking for more clarity on how it can accommodate the U.S. without “swallowing it up.”
“The threat of a takeover is devastating for us. It’s not something we can’t handle at all,” Nathanielsen said.
“So, we don’t want to be bought. We’ve made that clear. We certainly don’t want to be invaded — in which country in the world do we want that? But we want dialogue. We want cooperation. And we want to lower the temperature,” he added.
What next for Greenland?
In 2009, Greenland was granted greater autonomy in its internal affairs through the Self-Government Act, which gave the island the right to hold an independence referendum. Denmark remains responsible for its foreign, defense and security policies.
Many of Greenland’s political parties support independence, but disagree on when and how to achieve it. The independence movement became a balancing act between the island’s ultimate goal of self-determination and Denmark’s need to provide financial support for essential services such as health and education.
Speaking to CNBC earlier this month, Aadja Chemnitz, a member of the Danish parliament representing Greenland, said Greenlanders “want to make sure we’re not dehumanized, and I think that’s where we’re at.”
“People are resilient. I think it’s important to remember that you certainly can’t buy a country, but you can’t buy a people either,” Chemnitz told CNBC on January 8.