Poll: Most Americans Do Not Want to Annex Greenland

(Dan Tri) - A survey conducted by an American news site showed that more than 50% of participants do not want to annex the world's largest island, Greenland.

Khảo sát: Phần lớn người Mỹ không muốn sáp nhập đảo Greenland - 1 — Greenland Island (Photo: Reuters).

US President-elect Donald Trump has recently announced his intention to "buy" Greenland from Denmark for national security purposes, but the move does not appear to have received support from the American public, according to a new USA Today poll.

Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark. Trump floated the idea of buying the island during his first term in the White House but was rebuffed, and he raised the idea again last month.

According to a poll conducted by USA Today and released on January 15, only 11% of respondents said the incoming Trump administration should do everything possible to buy Greenland. Meanwhile, 29% said it was a good idea but not practical, and 53% did not support buying Greenland.

The survey had 1,000 participants and was conducted from January 7-11.

Eighty-six percent of Democrats surveyed oppose Trump’s Greenland plan, compared with 23 percent of Republicans; 21 percent say it’s not a good idea, while 48 percent think it’s good but impractical.

Earlier this week, a survey by research firm Patriot Polling found that more than 57% of Greenlanders supported the island becoming part of the United States, while 37.4% opposed it.

Greenland has a population of about 57,000 people, most of whom are the indigenous Inuit people of the Arctic region.

With an area of 2.2 million square kilometers, Greenland is rich in gold, silver, copper and uranium, and is believed to have huge oil reserves in its territorial waters. However, about 80% of the island's surface is covered with ice.

Mr Trump has argued that US control of Greenland would be a matter of “national security”. Republicans in the US Congress have drafted the “Make Greenland Great Again” bill, which would allow Mr Trump to negotiate with Denmark “for the purchase” of Greenland.

Mr. Trump has said he does not rule out the possibility of using military force to acquire Greenland. He said the island is strategically important to US national security in the face of threats from Russia and China.

Greenland officials have also flatly rejected the idea of the US buying Greenland. "Our island is not for sale and will never be for sale," said Greenland's Prime Minister Mute Egede. However, he stressed that he is ready to negotiate with President-elect Donald Trump.

Mr Egede said Mr Trump's statements were "serious" but "Greenland belongs to the people of Greenland". He noted that international cooperation with allies is very important and the island will continue to cooperate with the US in the future.

He also reiterated Greenland's ambition to gain independence from Denmark and said Greenlanders do not want to be Danish or American.

Greenland was granted self-government in 1979. The US already has a military base in Greenland and a 1951 defense agreement with Denmark, which could easily lead to an increased US military presence on the island.