NUUK: The US special envoy to Greenland, the Arctic island coveted by President Donald Trump, fanned the Danish autonomous territory’s dreams of independence in an interview published on Wednesday during his visit to Nuuk. “I think there are some incredible opportunities that can actually lift Greenlanders from dependency to independence,” Jeff Landry told Greenlandic daily newspaper Sermitsiaq.

“I think that the president of the United States would like to see the country become economically independent. And I think it’s possible here,” said Landry, who is also the governor of Louisiana. Trump has repeatedly insisted that Washington must control Greenland for reasons of national security. He backed down from threats to seize it in January, and a US-Danish-Greenlandic working group was set up to address Trump’s concerns.

Landry, who arrived in Nuuk on Sunday, was not officially invited to Greenland and his presence has stirred controversy on the island. He met the following day with Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, who described the meeting as a “courtesy visit” but one that made no progress on key issues. “We have our red line,” Greenland Foreign Minister Mute Egede, who attended the talks, told media afterwards.

Published in Dawn, May 21st, 2026