Washington, 10 January 2026 (dpa/MIA) - Greenland's political parties on Friday expressed unity in response to US President Donald Trump's claims to the Danish territory.

"We do not want to be Americans, we do not want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders," said a joint statement signed by the five parties in the Greenlandic parliament, Inatsisartut.

The parties called on the United States to end its "disdain for our country" and emphasized that "the future of Greenland must be decided by the Greenlandic people."

Trump had reaffirmed his claim to Greenland on Friday, saying the US must act to prevent China or Russia from gaining control of the strategically important Arctic island.

Speaking to reporters during an event at the White House, he said Washington would do "something" about Greenland, whether others liked it or not. "Because if we don't do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we're not going to have Russia or China as a neighbour," he said.

"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," he added.

Trump has repeatedly said he wants to bring the island, which belongs to NATO ally Denmark, under US control, citing its strategic importance and what he described as a growing presence of Russian and Chinese ships in the region.

His remarks have drawn alarm because he has not ruled out military or economic coercion. Greenland is mostly covered in ice and has a population of about 57,000.

The Danish government has firmly rejected Trump's claim. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned that a US attack on Greenland would spell the end of NATO and the post-World War II security order.