Greenland leaders ready to talk with Trump

Greenland’s leader Múte Egede said he is prepared to enter into negotiations with President-elect Trump about the future of the mineral-rich arctic territory — but warned his people had no interest in becoming Americans.

At a press conference Friday in Denmark, which exercises nominal sovereignty over Greenland, Egede said he accepted that Greenland was “a place that the Americans see as part of their world” and that while he has not spoken with Trump, he was open to “discussions about what unites us.”

“We are ready to talk,” he said. “Cooperation is about dialogue. Cooperation means that you will work towards solutions.”

Egede was joined at the press conference by his Danish counterpart Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

Greenland had been a colony of Denmark since the 18th century and became a self-governing Danish territory in 1953.

In 2009 the island won the right to secure independence if they ever voted to do so — something Egede supports.

“We have a desire for independence, a desire to be the master of our own house … This is something everyone should respect,” he said. “Greenland is for the Greenlandic people. We do not want to be Danish, we do not want to be American. We want to be Greenlandic.”

Greenland’s strategic importance has increased exponentially in recent years with ice-bound arctic waterways melting and world powers scrambling for new real estate between the United States and Russia.

The territory and its surrounding waters are rich in critical natural resources.

Under its current status, Denmark retains responsibility for the island’s defense.

In recent days the country sent private messages to Team Trump expressing their willingness to talk about how American security needs could be met without transferring formal sovereignty, Axios reported.

With Post wires