Trump's Statements About Greenland Caused Panic in Denmark - Greenlandic Lawmaker

"I think Denmark starts to respect us more and they are panicking, and trying to contact Donald Trump and his administration. They actually did this yesterday [January 15]. But we don't want to have a middleman in regards to foreign politics anymore. We can have a cooperation in regards to defense, security, economy, trade and all kinds of stuff but we don't want to be bullied or be told that 'you don't have the competency here anymore.' We just want an equal cooperation with them," Fencker said.

Earlier in the week, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen invited Trump to visit Denmark in a phone call and said Greenlanders should decide for themselves whether to become independent.

US President-elect Trump, due to assume office on January 20, has called it "an absolute necessity" for the US to own Greenland. Greenlandic Prime Minister Mute Egede said in response that the island was not for sale.

Greenland was a colony of Denmark until 1953. It remains part of the kingdom, but in 2009 it received autonomy with the ability to self-govern and make independent choices in domestic policy.