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Keir Starmer: Only Greenland and Denmark should decide the future of Greenland

5 January 2026

Only Greenland and Denmark should decide the future of Greenland, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has told the BBC.

It comes after President Trump again said "we need Greenland from the standpoint of national security".

Both Greenland's prime minister and Denmark's prime minister strongly rejected the idea over the weekend.

Greenland's Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen responded to Trump's latest comments by saying "that's enough now" and described the notion of US control over the island as a "fantasy".

Meanwhile, Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen had said "the US has no right to annex any of the three nations in the Danish kingdom".

Asked whether he would also say to President Trump "hands off Greenland", Sir Keir's response was definitive, when so often in diplomacy answers are caveated and nuanced.

"Yes," he replied. "Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark must decide the future of Greenland and only Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark.

"And Denmark is a close ally in Europe, is a Nato ally and it is very important that the future of Greenland is for the Kingdom of Denmark and for Greenland themselves and only for Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark."

source: commonspace.eu with BBC (London)

photo: Flags of Denmark and Greenland

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