Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen has rejected an offer from Donald Trump to send a hospital ship to the autonomous Danish territory, which the US president has previously expressed a desire to acquire.
Mr Nielsen stated on Sunday, “no thanks,” in response to the proposal. The offer came after Mr Trump announced on social media on Saturday that he was collaborating with Louisiana Governor and special envoy to Greenland, Jeff Landry, to dispatch a hospital boat.
“President Trump’s idea of sending an American hospital ship here to Greenland has been noted. But we have a public healthcare system where treatment is free for citizens. It is a deliberate choice,” Nielsen said in a post on Facebook.
Nielsen said Greenland remained open to dialogue and cooperation, also with the U.S.
“But talk to us instead of just making more or less random outbursts on social media,” he said.
Greenland, Denmark and the U.S. late last month launched diplomatic talks to resolve the crisis between the parties, following months of tension within the NATO defence alliance over Trump’s threats against the Arctic territory.
Trump’s post on the ship came hours after Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command said it had evacuated a crew member who required urgent medical treatment from a U.S. submarine in Greenlandic waters, seven nautical miles outside of Greenland’s capital, Nuuk. It was unclear if the post had any connection to the evacuation.
Denmark’s military conducted the urgent medical evacuation of a United States submarine crew member off the coast of Greenland.
The operation, confirmed by the Danish Joint Arctic Command on its Facebook page, took place on Saturday about seven nautical miles (13 kilometres) from Nuuk, the capital of the vast, ice-covered island.
A Danish Seahawk helicopter, deployed from an inspection ship, retrieved the individual.
The crew member was subsequently transferred to a hospital in Nuuk for urgent medical treatment.
The historically strong bilateral ties forged after World War II between Nato allies Denmark and the United States have come under severe strain in recent months.
Trump has ratcheted up talk of a possible US takeover of the mineral-rich and strategically located Arctic island, while Greenlanders have repeatedly said that the territory is “not for sale”.