Greenland's Prime Minister Mute Egede said Friday evening that he was "ready" for discussions with US President-elect Donald Trump following his comments that American control of the semi-autonomous Danish territory was an “absolute necessity” and refused to rule out military action in order to do so.
This follows news that Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is also attempting to open a dialogue with Trump about his remarks. Reuters reports, however, that Frederiksen does not expect that to happen before Trump's inauguration on January 20th.
READ ALSO: Danish PM seeks Trump talks over Greenland remarks
Speaking from Copenhagen in a joint press conference with Frederiksen, Egede denied that he had already spoken with Trump but said "we are ready to talk."
He also reiterated Greenland's push for independence: "We have a desire for independence, a desire to be the master of our own house ... This is something everyone should respect."
Greenland is not only strategically located, but also "holds massive untapped mineral and oil reserves, although oil and uranium exploration are banned," news wire AFP reports.
With a population of just 57,000 people, Greenland was a Danish colony until 1953 but is now self-governing and won the right to claim independence through a vote a little over a decade ago, in 2009.
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