The Greenland government said on Monday that progress had been made in talks with the United States (US) about the future of the territory, but that the large island wanted by US President Donald Trump would never be for sale, Reuters reported.
US special envoy Jeff Landry, appointed by Trump last year to work on establishing US control over Greenland, arrived in Nuuk on Sunday and met today with Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Foreign Minister Mute Egede.
"We believe there is progress, and on the Greenland side we are focused on finding a solution that is good for all of us, and most importantly - that there are no threats of annexation, takeover or purchase of Greenland and the Greenlandic people," Nilsen told reporters after the meeting with Landry.
Landri did not immediately comment, telling local media on Sunday that he had come to "listen and learn."
Trump's claim that the US must acquire or control Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, has caused tensions between Washington and Copenhagen, two founding countries of NATO, as well as more broadly across Europe.
"They requested a meeting, and we explained our situation and position, as well as that we have some red lines - we will not sell Greenland, Greenland will forever belong to us," Egede said.
In an effort to ease tensions, Greenland, Denmark and the US agreed earlier this year to hold high-level diplomatic talks to resolve the crisis, although the outcome of those ongoing talks has not yet been announced.
The US wants to boost its military presence in Greenland and include it in Trump's planned "Golden Dome" system for defense against nuclear attack.
The US currently has one active base in Greenland, the Pitufik Space Base in the northwest, down from about 17 facilities in 1945, when thousands of US soldiers and other personnel worked at facilities across the island.
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