Greenlandic Minister Calls Trump's Interest Wake-Up Call For Denmark

MOSCOW, Jan 15 (Bernama-Sputnik/RIA Novosti) -- Greenlandic Minister of Business, Trade, Mineral Resources, Justice and Gender Equality, Naaja Nathanielsen, said she welcomes US President-elect Donald Trump's interest in the island, noting that it could serve as a call to action for Denmark, reported Sputnik/RIA Novosti. 

"We have been trying to get more involvement from both the EU and the United States for many years now, so I think this is to some extent, I would say with some hesitance, the kind of attention we have been seeking… In my everyday life as a minister for natural resources in Greenland, I get a lot of attention from foreign press… I hardly ever speak to Danish press… I get a lot of attention from outside media but from the Danish perspective, they’re just not that interested. So, I think this has been a wake-up call to Copenhagen," Nathanielsen said in an interview with The Guardian newspaper on Tuesday.

Nathanielsen added that Greenland intends to use the US interest as leverage to demand justice from Denmark.

"I expect that from our side, we will use this renewed interest in our relationship (with Denmark) to underscore the importance that they do not stop here… I will definitely continue the pressure," the minister noted.

Trump, who is due to assume office on Jan 20, called it an "absolute necessity" for the United States to own Greenland. Greenlandic Prime Minister Mute Egede responded by saying that the island was not for sale.

Greenland was a colony of Denmark until 1953. It remains part of the kingdom, but in 2009, it received autonomy with the ability to self-govern and make independent choices in domestic policy.

-- BERNAMA-SPUTNIK/RIA NOVOSTI