Nearly half of those surveyed view President Trump’s interest in Greenland as a threat.

On Wednesday, the Danish newspaper Berlingske and the Greenlandic newspaper Sermitsiaq published a survey showing that 85% of Greenlanders do not want to leave Denmark to become part of the U.S.

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This survey comes amid controversy over U.S. President Donald Trump’s interest in acquiring the Danish autonomous territory.

According to the poll, only 6% of respondents want the Arctic island to become part of the U.S., while 9% remain undecided. Nearly half of those surveyed view Trump’s interest in Greenland as a possibility, while a similar percentage see it as a threat.

The survey was conducted between January 22 and 26 and is based on 497 online interviews with adults in Greenland, which has a population of approximately 57,000 people and spans over 2 million square kilometers, 80% of which is permanently covered in ice.

In recent weeks, Greenland has been at the center of geopolitical attention following statements by Trump, who considers the island a strategic necessity for the United States and has not ruled out taking forceful actions or imposing economic sanctions against Copenhagen if it refuses to sell the territory.

Both the Greenlandic and Danish governments have emphasized that it will be the Greenlanders who decide their own future. However, they have expressed openness to increasing defense and economic cooperation with the United States, particularly regarding Greenland’s mineral-rich subsoil.

Since 2009, Greenland has had an updated autonomy statute that recognizes its right to self-determination. While most political parties and the population support independence from Denmark, half of the island’s budget still depends on annual financial aid from Copenhagen.

teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE

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