Greenland's future not for US to decide: German vice chancellor

The United States should respect international law and territorial sovereignty, and as such Greenland's future should be decided by Greenland and Denmark, German Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said on Sunday, reported dpa.

"It is solely for Denmark and Greenland to decide Greenland's future," Kingbeil, who also heads the Social Democratic Party (SPD), said before his departure from Berlin to Washington ahead of meetings there.

Principles of international law such as respect for territorial sovereignty and integrity applied to everyone, "including the United States," Kingbeil stressed.

"We increase security in the Arctic together as NATO allies, not in opposition to each other."

Greenland, home to fewer than 57,000 people and about four-fifths covered by ice, is largely autonomous but formally part of the Kingdom of Denmark, a NATO member.

The US has invited finance ministers from several countries to Washington to discuss access to critical raw materials. Klingbeil had already said the talks would also touch on US ambitions in Greenland on the sidelines.

US President Donald Trump has recently repeatedly threatened the violent seizure of Greenland, claiming, "We have to have it."

He referred to the island's major strategic importance and a recent strong presence of Russian and Chinese ships in the region.

Trump's remarks are causing concern above all because he did not rule out military and economic coercion to gain control over Greenland.

"I would like to make a deal, you know, the easy way, but if we don't do it the easy way, we're going to do it the hard way," Trump told reporters on Friday.