The prime minister of the Greenland says the people of his mineral-rich Arctic territory don't want to be Americans but that he's open to greater cooperation with the United States.

Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede said on Friday he was ready to speak with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has said he wants control over the Arctic island, and urged respect for the island's independence aspirations.

Greenland's leader said on Friday he had not been in contact with incoming U.S. president Donald Trump, who has said he wants control over the Arctic island, and urged everyone to respect Greenland's wish for independence.

The island’s rare earth minerals and plum Arctic position have turned it into a geopolitical hotspot and the object of American fantasies.

Meanwhile, Egede has advocated for Greenland's independence, criticizing Denmark as a colonial power with a history of mistreatment toward the island's Indigenous Inuit population