Greenland leader calls for respect for island’s wish for independence

Greenland’s leader said on Friday he had not been in contact with incoming US president Donald Trump, who has said he wants control over the Arctic island, and urged everyone to respect Greenland’s wish for independence.

Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, said this week that US control of Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, was an “absolute necessity” and did not rule out using military or economic action such as tariffs against Denmark to make it happen.

“We have a desire for independence, a desire to be the master of our own house … This is something everyone should respect,” Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede said at a joint press conference with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in Copenhagen.