The Prime Minister of the autonomous Danish territory, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, expressed his displeasure on social media over an initiative reported by two Greenlandic citizens as “indecent” and “deeply concerning.”
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen criticized on Thursday the actions of an unidentified American who allegedly offered $200,000 to Greenlanders to sign a petition in favor of the territory’s attachment to the United States. “A stranger is offering money for a signature to annex Greenland to another country. This is not only deeply concerning. It is indecent,” Jens-Frederik Nielsen expressed on Facebook.
The Greenlandic television channel KNR reported on Thursday that a “mysterious American,” who identified himself as “Cliff,” offered a taxi driver in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, $200,000 to sign the petition. The taxi driver, Danny Brandt, stated to the channel that he declined this offer. Brandt shared this incident on social media, where another user mentioned being offered money to sign the petition as well. The taxi driver reported the incident to the police.
Groenlandic police mentioned to AFP that they had received reports linked to the current political situation. The police did not specify the number or content of the reports. “We are a democratic society. Our future is not negotiated in a taxi. And it is not bought with money,” emphasized the Prime Minister.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated that the United States should annex the Danish autonomous territory for national security. In January, Trump backtracked after weeks of aggressive rhetoric and announced reaching a framework agreement on Greenland with the NATO Secretary-General, but the specifics of the agreement remain unclear. Denmark and Greenland are in discussions with Washington regarding the future of the Arctic region.
