Greenland’s leaders are opposing President Trump as he and his administration advocate for U.S. control of the island. Multiple Trump administration officials have supported the president’s push for a Greenland takeover, often pointing to national security concerns.

“We don’t wish to be Americans, nor do we want to be Danes—we want to be Greenlanders,” Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and four party leaders stated Friday evening, according to . Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory and longstanding U.S. ally, has consistently rejected Trump’s remarks about the U.S. acquiring the island.

They repeated that the island’s “future must be determined by the Greenlandic people.”

“As Greenlandic party leaders, we want to stress once more our desire for the United States’ disregard for our nation to cease,” the statement continued.

Trump was questioned Friday about the effort to acquire Greenland during a roundtable with oil executives. The president, who has argued that Greenland is critical to U.S. security, said it was essential for the U.S. to act to stay ahead of its rivals.

“We’re going to take action on Greenland, whether they approve or not,” Trump stated Friday. “Because if we don’t, Russia or China will take control of Greenland—and we won’t allow Russia or China to be our neighbors.”

Trump welcomed nearly two dozen oil executives to the White House Friday to talk about investments in Venezuela following the historic arrest of President on Jan. 3.

“We don’t want Russia there,” Trump said about Venezuela Friday when asked if the country seems like a U.S. ally. “We don’t want there either. And, by the way, we don’t want Russia or China moving into Greenland—because if we don’t take Greenland, you could end up with Russia or China as next-door neighbors. That’s not going to occur.” 

Trump claimed the U.S. has control over Venezuela following the capture and extradition of Maduro. 

Nielsen has previously pushed back against comparing Greenland to Venezuela, noting that his island was seeking to enhance its ties with the U.S., .

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen stated Monday that Trump’s threats to annex Greenland could lead to the collapse of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

“I also want to clarify that if the U.S. decides to militarily attack another NATO country, everything ends—including our NATO membership and the security that has existed since the end of World War II,” Frederiksen told Danish broadcaster TV2.

On the same day, Nielsen said in a Facebook statement that Greenland was “not an object of superpower posturing.”

White House deputy chief of staff for policy addressed Trump’s remarks, stating in a Monday interview that Greenland “ the United States.”

CNN anchor Jake Tapper pressed Miller on whether the Trump administration could exclude the possibility of military action against the Arctic island.

“The United States is NATO’s leading power. For the U.S. to secure the Arctic region and NATO interests, it’s clear Greenland should be part of the United States,” he argued.