GREENLAND’S new Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen has condemned US President Donald Trump’s statements about the mineral-rich Arctic island as disrespectful and insisted that it “will never, ever be a piece of property that can be bought by just anyone.”

Mr Nielsen expressed his defiance of Mr Trump, who has threatened to seize control of the strategic territory, at a news conference with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Sunday.

“The talks from the United States have not been respectful,” Mr Nielsen said at the prime minister’s official residence in Lyngby, near Copenhagen, on the second day of his three-day official visit. Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark.

“The words used have not been respectful. That’s why we need, in this situation, we need to stand together.”

Political parties in Greenland, which has long been leaning towards eventual independence from Denmark, recently agreed to form a broad-based new coalition government in the face of Mr Trump’s designs on the territory.

Greenland’s government said that Mr Nielsen’s visit, which began on Saturday, was aimed at fostering future co-operation between the two countries.