Greenland rejects US envoy’s statehood suggestion

Greenland’s foreign minister, Múte B. Egede, has dismissed remarks by US special envoy Jeff Landry suggesting Greenland could become America’s 51st state, calling the idea “completely off the mark.”

Landry, who also serves as governor of Louisiana, posted on X on Monday that Greenland might join the US as a state next year. Egede told DR News the decision rests with Greenland.

“The future will be decided here in Greenland, and we have said from the start: we do not want to be American, and we do not want to be Danish. We are Greenlandic,” Egede said.

Landry visited Greenland in late May for the Future Greenland conference, describing the trip as an effort to “make a lot of new friends.”

Negotiations between Greenland, Denmark, and the US are currently underway to address American interests while respecting Danish and Greenlandic red lines. Egede called Landry’s public statements disrespectful to Greenland’s population and the Kingdom of Denmark.

“There is a working group pursuing diplomatic channels, and then there is a special envoy making statements here and there that are completely off the mark,” Egede said, calling the situation tiresome.