Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede has blunt 6-word message for Trump amid moves to take over country

Greenland's Prime Minister has issued a blunt six-word statement to Donald Trump amid the President-elect's interest in purchasing Danish territory.

During an interview with Fox News on Thursday, Mute Egede said that residents in his country 'don't want to be Americans' and 'do not want to be part of the United States'.

Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier asked Greenland's PM, 'You've heard the statements from the president-elect. What do you make of all of that?'

Egede fired back: 'We will always be part of NATO. We will always be a strong partner for US.

'We are close neighbors, we have been cooperating in the last 80 years, and I think the future have a lot to offer to cooperate with, but we want to also be clear. 

In a cold six-word statement to Trump, he said: 'We don't want to be Americans.

'We don't want to be a part of US, but we want a strong cooperation together with US'.

It comes after the US president-elect sparked turmoil in Copenhagen and Nuuk, Greenland's capital, last week when he signalled that the US wanted to acquire the huge arctic island.

In a 45-minute phone call on Wednesday, Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told Trump that Denmark was prepared to increase its responsibility for security in the Arctic.

She also reiterated the statements of the Egede, who recently said that Greenland was not for sale.

Trump did not react to the call publicly. However, he reposted on his TruthSocial platform a 2019 poll that indicated 68 per cent of Greenlanders supported independence from Denmark.

A referendum on independence is thought to be on the cards and Denmark has said it would respect any result.

Baier went on to quiz Egede in Thursday's interview on what residents of Greenland would vote for if faced with the opportunity to gain independence from Denmark.

'It's up to the Greenlandic people to decide when we want to be independent, and I think it's important to see that if Greenland takes those steps, we will always be a part of the Western alliance and a strong partner for US because your security is our security,' the prime minister responded.

'President Trump, as you know, can be persuasive,' remarked Baier. 'Are you saying tonight that Greenland is not for sale?'

Egede concluded, 'Greenland and the future of Greenland will be decided by the Greenlandic people, and the Greenlandic people don't want to be Danes, the Greenlandic people don't want to be Americans.

'Greenlandic people want to be part of the Western alliance as Greenlandic people.'

When he was last president, Trump said he wanted to buy Greenland for its oil, minerals, and geopolitical benefits.

'We need Greenland for national security purposes,' said Trump this month, before suggesting that Denmark may not even have 'any legal right to it.'

Last week, Trump threatened Denmark with high tariffs if the country did not give up Greenland.

The suggestion set off alarm bells among Danish industry leaders, as the US is Denmark's second largest export market and any targeted tariffs would have a significant impact on the Danish economy.

Then, earlier this week, Egede said his government was ready to start a dialogue with the incoming Trump administration.

But opposition MP Rasmus Jarlov said that he disapproved of Frederiksen's approach.

Writing on X/Twitter, he said: 'It is completely unacceptable that [Frederiksen] renounces Denmark's rights in Greenland and places sovereignty solely with the [Greenlander] self-government when she talks to the President of the United States.'