By Stine Jacobsen and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Greenland may become independent if its residents want, but is unlikely to become a U.S. state, Denmark's foreign minister said on Wednesday after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump refused to rule out force to take control of the Arctic island.
Greenland's leader met with the Danish king in Copenhagen on Wednesday, a day after Trump's remarks thrust the fate of the mineral-rich and strategically important island, which is under Danish rule, to the top of world headlines.
Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, said on Tuesday he would not rule out using military or economic action to make Greenland part of the United States. The same day, Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., made a private visit to Greenland.
Greenland, part of NATO through the membership of Denmark, has strategic significance for the U.S. military and for its ballistic missile early-warning system since the shortest route from Europe to North America runs via the Arctic island.
The president-elect has indicated he would pursue a more combative foreign policy that disregards traditional diplomatic formalities.
Greenland, the world's biggest island, has been part of Denmark for 600 years although its 57,000 people now govern their own domestic affairs. The island's government led by Prime Minister Mute Egede aims for eventual independence.
"We fully recognise that Greenland has its own ambitions. If they materialise, Greenland will become independent, though hardly with an ambition to become a federal state in the United States," Danish foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said.
He told reporters the United States' heightened security concerns in the Arctic were legitimate following increased Russian and Chinese activity in the region.
"I don't think that we're in a foreign policy crisis," he said. "We are open to a dialogue with the Americans on how we can possibly cooperate even more closely than we do to ensure that the American ambitions are fulfilled."
Still, although Denmark itself played down the seriousness of Trump's threat to its territory, the returning president's openly stated ambition to expand U.S. borders has jolted European allies less than two weeks before he takes office.
France's foreign minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, said Europe would not let other nations attack its sovereign borders, although he did not believe the U.S. would invade.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed surprise at Trump's comments about Greenland and Canada, underlining that European partners unanimously uphold the inviolability of borders.
STRAINED RELATIONS
Greenland's relations with Denmark have lately been strained by allegations of mistreatment of Greenlanders. Egede has said the island is not for sale, while in his New Year speech he stepped up his push for independence. Denmark says the territory's fate can be decided only by Greenlanders.
Greenland's Finance Minister Erik Jensen repeated that Greenland is not for sale. "Our wish is to become independent one day. But our ambition is not to go from being governed by one country to another."
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Tuesday she could not imagine Trump's ambitions would lead to U.S. military intervention in Greenland. Denmark's military capabilities there are limited to four inspection vessels, a Challenger surveillance plane and dog sled patrols.
Responding to Trump's threat of tariffs against Denmark, which according to analysts at Danske Bank (CSE:DANSKE) could potentially be "quite harmful to Danish companies, Frederiksen said she did not think a trade war with the United States was a good way forward.
Denmark is home to Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO), Europe's most valuable company, which makes weight-loss drug Wegovy that has become hugely popular in the United States, the Nordic country's biggest trading partner.
The Danish royal palace gave no details of King Frederik's meeting with Greenland's Egede.
While many Greenlanders dream of independence from Denmark, the king remains popular on the island, having spent extended periods there, including a four-month expedition on the ice sheet. Last month, the royal court modified its coat of arms, enlarging a polar bear that symbolises Greenland.
"He's popular in Greenland. So he can clearly be helpful to the Danish-Greenlandic relationship," Damien Degeorges, a Reykjavik-based consultant specialising in Greenland, told Reuters.
Trump already raised the issue of the U.S. taking over Greenland during his first presidency, but his latest remarks still left many Danes baffled.
"I find it extremely ridiculous," said Jeppe Finne Sorenson, a data engineer in the Danish capital. "We have an alliance, we're allies. So this doesn't really respect that."
($1 = 7.2417 Danish crowns)