(NewsNation) — Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen on Monday rejected President Donald Trump’s remarks regarding an American takeover of the Danish territory and urged respect for international law.
“This is enough,” Nielsen wrote on social media late Sunday. “No more pressure. No more hints. No more fantasies about annexation.”
He continued: “We are open for dialogue. We are open to conversations. But it has to be through the right channels and with respect to international law. And the right channels are not random and disrespectful posts on social media.”
Trump renewed his calls for an American takeover of Greenland for the sake of U.S. security interests after the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces over the weekend.
On Sunday, Trump mocked Denmark’s efforts at boosting Greenland’s national security posture, saying the Danes have added “one more dog sled” to the Arctic territory’s arsenal.
Greenlanders and Danes were further rankled by a social media post from a former Trump administration official-turned-podcaster, Katie Miller, following the raid. The post shows an illustrated map of Greenland overlaid with the U.S. flag, accompanied by the caption, “SOON.”
During his presidential transition and in the early months of his return to the White House, Trump repeatedly called for U.S. jurisdiction over Greenland and has pointedly not ruled out military force to take control of the mineral-rich, strategically located Arctic island that belongs to an ally.
The issue had drifted mainly out of the headlines in recent months until Trump announced he would appoint Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry as his special envoy to Greenland in December.
Landry said that in his volunteer position, he would help Trump “make Greenland a part of the U.S.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.