Keir Starmer has said only Greenland and Denmark should decide the future of the territory and that Donald Trump should keep his ‘hands off’ the territory.
His comments come after Trump reiterated his desire for the US to take control of Greenland, claiming America needs the territory for “national security.”
Ever since he returned to office last year, Trump has spoken of his desire to take control of Greenland, claiming this is vital for the US’s security.
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The possibility of the US taking control of Greenland has seemed to increase in recent days following the nation’s military operation in Venezuela, in which president Nicolas Maduro was captured.
But over the weekend, the leaders of both Greenland and Denmark strongly rejected any possibility of America annexing the semi-autonomous territory, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
Now, Keir Starmer has seemingly echoed these messages, by saying the future of Greenland should only be up to itself and Denmark.
When asked by the BBC if he would say “hands of Greenland” to Trump, the PM gave a definitive “yes.”
He continued: “Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark must decide the future of Greenland and only Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark.
“Denmark is a close ally in Europe, is a Nato ally and it is very important that the future of Greenland is for the Kingdom of Denmark and for Greenland themselves and only for Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark.”
Starmer repeated the comments to other broadcasters and said that Britain “stands” with Denmark.
On Sunday, Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen said “it makes absolutely no sense to talk about the need for the United States to take over Greenland.”
In a message which was “very directly” for the US, Frederiksen said America “has no right to annex any of the three nations in the Danish kingdom.”
The comments came after the wife of one of Trump’s aide tweeted a map of Greenland covered in the colours of the US flag along with the word “SOON.”
The words seemed to go over Trump’s head though, as he later said on Air Force One that the US “need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it.”
In December, Trump appointed a special envoy to Greenland in a move that sparked anger from Denmark.
Greenland is a largely self-governing, autonomous territory that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
Although most of its 57,000 population want independence from the Scandinavian country at some point, there is also near-universal opposition to the US taking control of the territory.