Greenland’s prime minister told AFP on Tuesday that Denmark’s general election was the most important in the history of the Danish autonomous territory coveted by US President Donald Trump.
Trump has repeatedly said he believes the United States must control Greenland to ensure US national security.
Earlier threats he made to seize the mineral-rich territory, by force if necessary, have ebbed since he struck a “framework” deal with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
As polls opened in Greenland’s capital Nuuk, Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, of the centre-right Democrats party, stressed that the territory still found itself in a “serious situation”.
“I think it’s the most important election for the Danish parliament in Greenland in history.
“We are in a time where we have a superpower trying to acquire us, take us, control us,” Nielsen told AFP.
“They have a desire to do it, so we are still in a very tense situation,” he added.
Two seats in Denmark’s 179-seat parliament are reserved for Greenlandic representatives and the election campaign has generated more interest than usual, with more than 20 candidates standing.
Greenland’s main political parties all want independence from Denmark, but differ on the pace of the separation.
“I think the most important thing that all the parties in Greenland have agreed on is that we need to work together, whoever gets elected for the parliament,” Nielsen said.
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