Greenland's parliament will bring forward a meeting to discuss its response to US threats to take control of the Arctic island, the leaders of the five political parties in the Greenlandic assembly said in a joint statement.
President Donald Trump has said that the United States must own Greenland, an autonomous part of the Kingdom of Denmark, to prevent Russia or China occupying the strategically located and minerals-rich territory in the future.
Both Russia and China have increased military activity in the region in recent years, but neither has laid any claim to the vast icy island.
"We emphasise once again our desire for the US contempt for our country to end," the leaders of all five political parties elected to Greenland's parliament said in their joint statement late on Friday.
"We do not want to be Americans, we do not want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders," they said in the statement, posted on social media by Greenland's premier, Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
A meeting of Greenland's parliament, the Inatsisartut, will be brought forward to ensure that a fair and comprehensive political debate takes place and that the people's rights are secured, the leaders said.
The date of the meeting has not yet been determined.
Greenland's parliament last met in November and had been scheduled to meet again on February 3, according to its website.
Trump said on Friday that he would "do something on Greenland whether they like it or not" and that the US military presence in the island under a 1951 agreement with fellow North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) member Denmark is not enough to guarantee the island's defence.
Trump's renewed push for Greenland, after US military intervention in Venezuela, worries many of the island's 57,000 inhabitants, whose widely held goal is to eventually become an independent nation.
A 2009 agreement between Greenland and Denmark explicitly recognised Greenlanders' right to independence if they choose, but while all five parties say they want independence, they differ on how and when to achieve it.
"We must decide the future of our country ourselves, without pressure for a quick decision, delay or interference from other countries," the party leaders said, adding that they sought dialogue based on diplomacy and international principles.
Julius Nielsen, a 48-year-old fisherman in the capital Nuuk, told AFP: "American? No! We were a colony for so many years. We're not ready to be a colony again, to be colonised.”
A Danish colony until 1953, Greenland gained home rule 26 years later and is contemplating eventually loosening its ties with Denmark.
Many Greenlanders remain cautious about making this a reality.
"I really like the idea of us being independent, but I think we should wait. Not for now. Not today," Pitsi Mari, who works in telecoms, told AFP.
"I feel like the United States' interference disrupts all relationships and trust" between Denmark and Greenland, said Inaluk Pedersen, a 21-year-old shop assistant.
The coalition currently in power is not in favour of a hasty independence.
The only opposition party, Naleraq, which won 24.5% of the vote in the 2025 legislative elections, wants to cut ties as quickly as possible but it is also a signatory of the joint declaration.
"It's time for us to start preparing for the independence we have fought for over so many years," said MP Juno Berthelsen in a Facebook post.
According to a poll published Saturday by Danish agency Ritzau, more than 38% of Danes think the United States will launch an invasion of Greenland under the Trump administration.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that an invasion of Greenland would end "everything", meaning the transatlantic Nato defence pact and the post-World War II security structure.
Trump has made light of the concerns of Denmark, a steadfast US ally that joined the United States in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
"I'm a fan of Denmark, too, I have to tell you. And you know, they've been very nice to me," Trump said. "But you know, the fact that they had a boat land there 500 years ago doesn't mean that they own the land."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is due to meet next week with Denmark's foreign minister and representatives from Greenland.
A flurry of diplomacy is under way as Europeans try to head off a crisis while at the same time avoiding the wrath of Trump, who is nearing the end of his first year back in power.
Trump had offered to buy Greenland in 2019 during his first presidential term but was rebuffed.
The head of Nato's forces in Europe, US General Alexus Grynkewich, said on Friday that the military alliance was far from being in "a crisis", following Trump's threats to bring Greenland under US control.
"There's been no impact on my work at the military level up to this point... I would just say that we're ready to defend every inch of alliance territory still today," Grynkewich said. "So I see us as far from being in a crisis right now."
