Nuuk, March 5: Greenland's prime minister has a message for President Donald Trump: 슬롯사이트œGreenland is ours.슬롯사이트� Múte Bourup Egede made the statement on Facebook Wednesday, just hours after Trump declared in his speech to a joint session of Congress that he intends to gain control of Greenland 슬롯사이트œone way or the other.슬롯사이트� 슬롯사이트œKalaallit Nunaat is ours,슬롯사이트� Egede said in the post, using the Greenlandic name for his country.

슬롯사이트œWe don't want to be Americans, nor Danes; We are Kalaallit. The Americans and their leader must understand that. We are not for sale and cannot simply be taken. Our future will be decided by us in Greenland,슬롯사이트� he said. The post ended with a clenched fist emoji and a Greenlandic flag. On the streets of Nuuk, Greenland's capital, where the temperature was 4 degrees blow zero (minus 20 Celsius) at midday Wednesday and the bright sunshine reflected blindingly off a layer of fresh-fallen snow, people are taking Trump's designs on their country seriously. Trump Refuses to Rule out Use of Military Force to Take Control of Greenland, Panama Canal.

Since taking office six weeks ago, Trump has repeatedly expressed his interest in Greenland, a huge mineral-rich island that sits along strategic sea lanes in the North Atlantic. Greenland, a self-governing territory of Denmark with a population of about 56,000 people, lies off the northeastern coast of Canada, closer to Washington, DC, than to Copenhagen. Trump made a direct appeal to Greenlanders in his speech to Congress, just a week before the country's voters cast their ballots in parliamentary elections.

슬롯사이트œWe strongly support your right to determine your own future, and if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America,슬롯사이트� Trump said. 슬롯사이트œWe will keep you safe. We will make you rich. And together we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before,슬롯사이트� he added. But Trump's message came with undertones of the great power politics that have marked the early days of his second administration. Since taking office, Trump has suggested moving Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip and turning it into a 슬롯사이트œRiviera of the Middle East;슬롯사이트� announced his intention to regain control of the Panama Canal; and stopped arms deliveries to Ukraine after the country's president was slow to endorse Washington's roadmap for a peace deal with Russia.

Trump said his administration was 슬롯사이트œworking with everybody involved to try to get슬롯사이트� Greenland. 슬롯사이트œWe need it really for international world security. And I think we're going to get it. One way or the other, we're going to get it,슬롯사이트� Trump said. Lisa Aardestrup, an 18-year-old language student, wasn't interested in Trump's sales pitch as she stepped carefully off a bus and onto an icy street on her way to class Wednesday morning. Polar Vortex Makes Much of US Colder Than Greenland but Warmth is Coming; then More Cold.

She's concerned that becoming part of the United States would damage Greenland's environment and the fishing industry, which accounts for about 90 per cent of the country's exports, while fuelling inflation and higher taxes. 슬롯사이트œWe feel like it's a bad idea, and we just more want to be like our little island that's more independent than anything else,슬롯사이트� Aardestrup said. 슬롯사이트œGreenland is very independent,슬롯사이트� she added.

Aardestrup is also worried about importing the school shootings, angry politics and homelessness that dominate the news from the US. She fears that would threaten Greenland's culture, which she learned about from the stories her parents told her. 슬롯사이트œThere's a lot of great people here,슬롯사이트� she said. 슬롯사이트œLike, you create very lovely and longstanding friendships. And I think that's what I love about Greenland so much.슬롯사이트�

\Greenlanders voted overwhelmingly in favour of self-government in a 2009 referendum that also established a pathway to independence whenever the people of the island support such a move. Under the terms of that referendum, Denmark remains responsible for Greenland's defence and foreign affairs, with the local government controlling other matters. Asked about Trump's comments, Denmark's foreign minister said he didn't think Greenlanders wanted to separate from Denmark only to become 슬롯사이트œan integrated part of America.슬롯사이트�

Lars Løkke Rasmussen said he believed Trump's reference to respecting Greenlanders' right to self-determination was the most important part of his speech. 슬롯사이트œI'm very optimistic about what will be a Greenlandic decision about this,슬롯사이트� he said during a trip to Finland. 슬롯사이트œThey want to loosen their ties to Denmark. We're working on that, to have a more equal relationship.슬롯사이트� Løkke added that it was important for next week's elections to be free and fair 슬롯사이트œwithout any kind of international intervention.슬롯사이트�

While opinion polls suggest most Greenlanders don't want to become part of the US, not everyone agrees. Yulao Sandkreen is thrilled with the notion that Trump might offer Greenlanders a chance to be part of the United States. Standing outside a supermarket with a coffee and cigarette in hand, Sandkreen, who had a relative who worked with the US Coast Guard, focused on the advantages that could come with tighter bonds with the United States.

슬롯사이트œWe need McDonald's,' he said. 슬롯사이트œWe need everything.'