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Greenland’s opposition party pushes closer US ties, independence from Denmark as Trump plays big in election
Greenlanders will head to the polls to vote in their country’s parliamentary election on Tuesday, in what will likely prove to be a historic vote not because of any seismic shifts within the nation but because of the geopolitical message it will send.
Independence from Denmark is not on the ballot itself, but who is elected to Greenland’s parliament will signal how the country could move forward in not only divorcing itself from Copenhagen, but in handling what some critics have perceived as threats issued by President Donald Trump.
Parliamentary elections on the world’s largest island, a nation of less than 60,000 people, have previously picked up scant coverage due to their relatively low impact on world affairs.
Anthon Frederiksen, from the Naleraq Party, hangs campaign posters before the general election on March 10, 2025, in Ilulissat, Greenland. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
TRUMP SAYS AMERICA WOULD WELCOME GREENLAND DURING JOINT ADDRESS TO CONGRESS
But all that changed in January when, ahead of his inauguration, Trump refused to rule out the possibility of «acquiring» Greenland through economic or military means and has since repeated his interest in the strategically important island.
While the majority of Greenlanders support independence from Denmark, they also align in their opposition to Trump’s ambitions for the island nation.
There is not a single lawmaker in Greenland that ran for election in this cycle on becoming a part of the U.S., but the leading opposition party known as Naleraq, which currently holds just five of the 31 seats in Greenland’s parliament, may have a solution to achieve independence while also appealing to Trump’s interests.
Qupanuk Olsen, a 39-year-old running under the Naleraq party who has garnered a massive social media presence with over a million followers spread over Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, shared a video in January where she addressed questions regarding her opinion on the matter.
Without directly noting her position on Trump’s ambitions, as she said she wants to keep her social media presence as «A-political as possible,» she emphasized her support for expanding Greenland’s partnerships.
Qupanuk Olsen, candidate for the populist Naleraq party, smiles while attending a political meeting at the university in Nuuk, Greenland, on March 6, 2025. (Odd Andersen/AFP via Getty Images)
«I strongly believe in Greenland’s independence,» she went on to say, «To achieve this we must expand our collaborations and establish business relationships with countries beyond Denmark.
«We Greenlanders, Kalaallit, deserve to be independent,» she continued in reference to the Greenlandic Inuit ethnic group. «And I hope we will strengthen our connections with our fellow Inuit in Canada and Alaska significantly more in the near future.»
GREENLAND, PANAMA FIERCELY REJECT TRUMP’S AMBITIONS IN ADDRESS TO CONGRESS
Though Greenland won self-rule in 1979, with Denmark continuing to oversee issues relating to defense and foreign policy, the Naleraq party has pushed for a swift transition to complete independence.
The leading opposition party has argued this could be achieved by bolstering existing business opportunities like its fishing industry, as well as by establishing defensive agreements with nations like the U.S., in which it would allow Washington to continue to operate its military interests from the island in exchange for security assurances without becoming a U.S. territory.
Though it remains unclear if such a deal would win over Trump, who could be viewing the Artic nation as an untapped opportunity for its rare earth minerals and oil and gas reserves – which Greenland has blocked even the EU from accessing.
Infographic with map showing Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory which will hold legislative elections on March 11, as well as Denmark and the United States. (Graphic by Guillermo Rivas Pachecovalentina Breschiclara Morineau/AFP via Getty Images)
The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital’s questions over whether expanding ties with Greenland would appease Trump’s ambitions, though on Sunday Trump reiterated his position on the island nation.
«As I made clear during my Joint Address to Congress, the United States strongly supports the people of Greenland’s right to determine their own future,» he said on his social media platform Truth Social. «We will continue to keep you safe, as we have since World War II.»
THE HISTORIC IMPORTANCE OF GREENLAND FOR US NATIONAL SECURITY AS DEBATE OVER ISLAND’S FUTURE ROARS ON
«We are ready to invest billions of dollars to create new jobs and make you rich – And, if you so choose, we welcome you to be a part of the Greatest Nation anywhere in the World, the United States of America,» he added.
Trump drew rebuke in some quarters following his address to Congress, where his tone on Greenland was softer than previous remarks, but he concluded by saying, «One way or the other, we’re going to get it.»
According to a January poll, some 85% of Greenlanders oppose Trump’s push to make Greenland a part of the U.S., including Prime Minister Mute Egede, who has been not only a huge proponent of independence from Denmark, but who has also been staunchly opposed to Trump’s interest in Greenland.
Egede’s Inuit Ataqatigiit party, which currently holds 11 seats, is expected to pick up an even greater majority following the Tuesday election.
Anthon Frederiksen delivers campaign posters before the general election on March 10, 2025, in Ilulissat, Greenland. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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Egede, who has repeatedly told the U.S. president that Greenland is «not for sale,» on Monday said Trump’s unpredictability was sowing international chaos.
«The things that are happening in the world right now worry me quite a lot,» Egede told Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR). «There is a world order that is faltering on many fronts, and perhaps a president in the United States who is very unpredictable in a way that makes people feel insecure.»
Ukraine on Tuesday agreed to a preliminary proposal put forward by the Trump administration that called for a 30-day ceasefire contingent on Russia’s acceptance of the terms in a major step toward ending the brutal war.
But even if the Trump administration is able to get Moscow to the negotiating table and end the three-year war under a new treaty, which several security experts say Russian President Vladimir Putin is under no real pressure to do, can the Kremlin chief be trusted?
Russia under Putin has repeatedly violated formal international agreements intended to protect Ukraine’s sovereignty, chiefly from its former Soviet overlord.
From left, U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Saudi National Security Advisor Mosaad bin Mohammed al-Aiban, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Ukrainian Head of Presidential Office Andriy Yermak hold a meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Saul Loeb/Pool Photo via AP)
UKRAINE ACCEPTS DEAL, SAYS RUBIO: ‘WE’LL TAKE THIS TO THE RUSSIANS’
These agreements include the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, in which Ukraine agreed to relinquish its nuclear arsenal in exchange for assurances over its territorial integrity after its 1991 withdrawal from the Soviet Union, as well as the 1997 Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation, and Partnership by which Moscow and Kyiv agreed to respect one another’s existing borders. Both deals were first violated in 2014 when Putin seized Crimea and backed Russian separatist forces in the Donbas region.
The 2014-2015 Minsk Agreements, though criticized as «weak,» attempted to end Russia’s aggression in eastern Ukraine, an agreement that was never fully achieved and was again violated by Putin’s 2022 invasion.
Some world leaders and security officials, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, have cautioned that a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine is unlikely to be achieved in the near term and against Putin’s reliability in adhering to any international agreement without serious security commitments from the West.
«The problem here is that the Russians only understand win-lose outcomes, which means that to prevent them from ever attacking Ukraine again, they must see themselves to be the losers in the war just as they did at the end of the Cold War,» Michael Ryan, former deputy assistant secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy and former acting assistant secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, told Fox News Digital.
Ukrainian soldiers fire a cannon near Bakhmut, an eastern city where fierce battles against Russian forces have been taking place in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, May 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Libkos)
Security officials interviewed by Fox News Digital argued that securing Ukraine’s future is not about «trusting» Putin. It’s about actually putting Russia in a position where any future violations would hinder Moscow more than it could be enticed by unchecked opportunity.
TRUMP THREATENS SANCTIONS ON RUSSIA, DEMANDS PEACE AFTER MAJOR HITS IN UKRAINE
«Even if a deal is concluded, Russia will continue clandestine operations across the world to expand its footprint in terms of geopolitical influence,» Rebekah Koffler, a former DIA intelligence officer, told Fox News Digital, noting the former KGB operative can be counted on to «continue election interference campaigns, cyber warfare, espionage and destabilization operations across the globe.
«There’s no such thing as peace in Russia’s strategic military thinking. You are in a constant confrontation.»
Ryan argued a Trump-brokered peace deal needs to reflect on the lessons learned from previously failed agreements, like the post-WWI Treaty of Versailles, which arguably led to the rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany.
«How to solve this conundrum? Just as we did after World War II … reconstruction of Ukraine must include economic reconciliation with Russia,» Ryan said. «The Russians saw how we rebuilt the losing side in World War II Germany and Japan. They expected us to do the same for Russia after the Cold War, but we did not.
«We can’t make that same mistake if we want lasting peace for Ukraine and if we want to split Russia from China,» he added, noting other adversaries are watching how the West handles this geopolitical hurdle.
Ukrainian soldiers of the Aidar battalion training at an undetermined location in Donetsk oblast, 4 April 2023. (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
There are numerous obstacles when it comes to the Trump administration’s attempt to negotiate with Putin, including arguments over occupied territory, international recognition of occupied lands, international aid and support for Ukraine, international confiscation of frozen Russian assets, Zelenskyy’s standing at home, the return of prisoners of war and the return of abducted Ukrainian children, according to Peter Rough, senior fellow and director of the Center on Europe and Eurasia at the Hudson Institute.
«Putin has officially annexed four Ukrainian oblasts as well as Crimea. But Moscow has yet to conquer any of the four entirely,» Rough told Fox News Digital while traveling to Ukraine. «I can’t imagine that Ukraine will withdraw from the areas they control, having fought tooth and nail to defend those regions.
«I also doubt that the West will offer de jure recognition to the areas Moscow controls,» he added. «So, Putin would have to swallow all of that in a peace deal.»
Each issue alone is a massive undertaking to negotiate, and while Ukraine this week may be outlining concessions it could make to secure a deal coordinated by the U.S., Putin is unlikely to do the same, according to Koffler, who briefed NATO years ahead of the 2022 invasion on Putin’s plans.
RUBIO SAYS MINERAL DEAL ‘NOT MAIN TOPIC ON AGENDA’ IN UKRAINE MEETING
«Putin is unlikely to make any concessions as he believes he is in a strong position,» Koffler told Fox News Digital. «The disparity in combat potential dramatically favors Russia over Ukraine, which is out-manned and outgunned because Putin transitioned the Russian military and economy on a wartime footing seven years prior to the invasion of Ukraine.»
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting on the draft of a 2024 federal budget and the planning period of 2025 and 2026, via video link at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Sept. 18, 2023 (Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool)
«Putin believes he has prepared Russia to fight till the last Ukrainian and till the last missile in NATO’s arsenal,» she added, echoing a January warning issued by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who said Russia’s defense industry output over a three-month period equates to what all of NATO produces an entire year.
«Putin is highly unlikely to agree to a ceasefire because he doesn’t want to give a strategic pause to Ukraine, the U.S., and NATO to re-arm,» Koffler said. «He doesn’t trust Washington. He doesn’t trust President Trump any more than we trust Putin.
«He trusts Trump even less than Biden because he could read Biden and predict his behavior. He cannot read Trump because Trump is unpredictable.»
The experts argued there are too many variables that could play out during negotiations that will determine whether Putin can be adequately held accountable or «trusted» regarding future agreements.
Ukrainian soldiers work with «pion» artillery in the northern direction of the Donbass front line as the Russia-Ukraine war continues in Donetsk, Ukraine, Jan. 7, 2023. (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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Ultimately, Koffler said, Putin will not leave eastern Ukraine.
«Ukraine has always been a red line for Putin, in terms of who has geopolitical control of it, Russia or the West. And he will continue to enforce this red line,» she said. «The only way to ensure that Putin doesn’t invade another country is to make NATO strong again, beef up force posture, increase defense spending, secure its command-and-control networks and develop actual deterrence and counter-strategy that addresses every prong of Putin’s strategy.»
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