Denmark and Greenland have issued a unified rebuke of President Donald Trump’s decision to appoint Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as U.S. special envoy to Greenland, asserting that Washington’s ambitions threaten their sovereign territorial integrity.

In a joint statement released Monday, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, stated: “We have said it before. Now, we say it again. National borders and the sovereignty of states are rooted in international law… You cannot annex another country. Not even with an argument about international security.” They further emphasized that “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders and the U.S. shall not take over Greenland,” adding they expect “respect for our joint territorial integrity.”

The move follows Trump’s repeated calls during his presidential transition and early second term for expanded U.S. jurisdiction over the mineral-rich Arctic territory, which Denmark controls but has granted significant autonomy. A day after Trump announced Landry’s appointment, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen summoned the U.S. ambassador to Copenhagen, warning that “the White House’s interest in Greenland… had not gone away.”

Denmark’s intelligence services recently identified the Trump administration as a potential threat to national security due to its alleged willingness to use economic and military pressure against allies—a concern heightened by Trump’s social media posts urging his envoy to “strongly advance our Country’s Interests for the Safety, Security, and Survival of our Allies.”

Greenland’s local leadership has maintained that the island will determine its own future, underscoring the urgency of Denmark’s stance as tensions between Copenhagen and Washington intensify over Greenland’s status.