Greenland's Prime Minister Mute Egede has reaffirmed that the self-governing Danish territory has no desire to become part of the United States, following recent comments by U.S. President Donald Trump about possible U.S. control over Greenland.

Trump's remarks, made after assuming office, rekindled worries about the island's strategic significance.

In January, Trump had stirred controversy by not ruling out military intervention to bring Greenland and the Panama Canal under U.S. control.

Egede responded by stressing that Greenland's future would be decided by its own citizens, not by outside forces.

"We are Greenlanders. We don't want to be Americans. We don't want to be Danish either," Egede stated at a press conference, acknowledging the challenging geopolitical situation of the territory.

Although Trump did not specifically mention Greenland during his inauguration speech, he later commented on the island's importance for "international security." Trump suggested that Denmark, which administers Greenland, might eventually give up control due to the high costs of maintaining the territory.

Conversely, Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen criticized the idea of any nation forcibly taking control of another.

"We can't have a world order where countries, if they're big enough, can just take what they want," Rasmussen said.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also joined the discussion, affirming Greenland's right to self-determination and emphasizing the importance of maintaining strong relations with the U.S., Denmark's key ally since World War II.