In an interview with Novaya-Europe, transatlantic security expert Gabriella Gricius said that Greenland remains an autonomous territory of Denmark but controls nearly all of its internal affairs. Copenhagen still retains authority over foreign policy and security. According to her, the island can seek full independence, but that would require a parliamentary declaration, negotiations with Denmark, approval by both parliaments, and a referendum.
Gricius noted that Greenland’s economy depends on a Danish grant for almost 50% of its funding. For that reason, she said, many residents support the idea of independence but are unwilling to sacrifice economic stability. At the same time, Denmark has publicly said it would not block secession if that is what Greenlanders want.
Commenting on Donald Trump’s statements about buying the island, the expert stressed that “Greenland is not for sale.” In her view, Denmark has no legal basis to transfer the territory to another state without the consent of its population. She added that about 85% of residents do not want to become part of the United States, even though roughly the same share supports independence in the long term.
The expert also said the US has long had broad access to the island. The military arrangement dates back to 1941 and was formalized in 1951. In 2004, it was updated into a trilateral agreement involving the US, Denmark, and Greenland. American activity is now centered on Pituffik Space Base, used primarily for early warning of missile launches.
In Gricius’s assessment, Trump’s talk of a “Greenland problem” looks like an artificially manufactured crisis. She linked Washington’s interest either to access to rare earths and other strategic resources or to broader US imperial ambitions. Developing those deposits, she stressed, would take years and come with significant environmental costs.
“If the United States were nevertheless to use force, the reputational costs would be enormous and it could call NATO’s very existence into question,” Gricius said.
She also suggested that Trump’s sharp foreign policy rhetoric may be diverting attention from domestic US problems. Over the next 5–10 years, she expects the dispute over Greenland to persist, with Denmark relying less on appeasing Washington and more on support from Nordic, European, and other partners.