Greenlanders overwhelmingly oppose becoming part of the United States, poll shows

COPENHAGEN: An opinion poll indicated that 85 per cent of Greenlanders do not wish their Arctic island - a semi-autonomous Danish territory - to become a part of the United States, with nearly half saying they see interest from US President Donald Trump as a threat.

Trump said earlier this month that Greenland was vital to US security and Denmark should give up control of the strategically important island.

The survey by pollster Verian, commissioned by the Danish newspaper Berlingske and Greenlandic daily Sermitsiaq, showed that only 6 per cent of Greenlanders are in favour of their island becoming part of the US, with 9 per cent undecided.

The poll showed that 45 per cent viewed Trump's interest in Greenland as a threat, with 43 per cent saying they see it as an opportunity, leaving 13 per cent undecided.

Greenland enjoys many of the same welfare benefits as Denmark such as universal healthcare and free education.

Only 8 per cent of those polled said they would be willing to change their Danish citizenship to American, 55 per cent said they would prefer to be Danish citizens, and 37 per cent were undecided.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Tuesday (Jan 28) that she had given full backing to the principle of maintaining respect for international borders, following meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and North Atlantic Treaty Organization chief Mark Rutte.

"I am pleased if the survey is an expression that many Greenlanders would like to see a continued close cooperation with Denmark. Probably in a different form than what we know today, because everything changes over time," she told Berlingske in response to the poll.

Denmark said on Monday that it would spend 14.6 billion crowns (US$2.04 billion) on boosting its military presence in the Arctic.

Greenland - with a land mass larger than Mexico and a population of 57,000 - was granted broad self-governing autonomy in 2009. This included the right to declare independence from Denmark through a referendum.

Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede, who has stepped up a push for independence, has repeatedly said the island is not for sale and that it is up to its people to decide their future.

The US military has a permanent presence at the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a strategic location for its ballistic missile early-warning system, as the shortest route from Europe to North America runs via the island.