Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen hold each other as they leave the venue after a meeting in Nuuk, Greenland, on January 23, 2026.
Jonathan Nackstrand | Afp | Getty Images
Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen on Wednesday issued a defiant message on the Arctic island’s future, while Denmark warned the world order as we know it is now over.
Appearing together at a forum in the French capital as they seek to shore up support from European allies, the political leaders sought to portray a united front amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s Greenland threats.
“The world order as we know it that we have been fighting for 80 years is over and I don’t think it will return,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said at Science Po University in Paris, according to Reuters.
“The best way forward for the U.S, Europe is to stick together … We will try to find a way forward with U.S. We share concerns on Arctic security. Russia does not want peace with Europe,” she added.
Greenland’s Nielsen, meanwhile, said the self-governing Danish territory agrees that there is a need for more surveillance and security in the Arctic “because of the way Russia acts now.” He added that Greenland would not give in to foreign pressure.
“What we are dealing with as a government is trying to push back from outside and handle our people who are afraid and scared,” Nielsen said.
The comments come shortly after Nielsen and Frederiksen held talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin on Tuesday.
Trump, who has long advocated for control of Greenland, said in a surprise development last week that he had secured a framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland. The U.S. president did not give further details at the time, although he said talks would continue to reach an agreement.
Opinion polls have shown that Greenlanders overwhelmingly oppose U.S. control, while a strong majority support independence from Denmark.
