Greenland’s leader stated on Sunday that the U.S. “will not acquire” the island, which is rich in resources.

The president is reportedly seeking to annex the self-governing Danish territory, a U.S. ally in NATO, citing national security needs.

“President Trump states that the United States ‘will get Greenland.’ Let me be clear: The United States will not get it. We are not under anyone else’s control. We will decide what our own future will look like,” Jens-Frederik Nielsen wrote in a Facebook post.

Vice President JD Vance, second lady Usha Vance, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and Utah Senator Mike Lee (Republican) visited Pituffik Space Base, the Defense Department’s most northerly military base, in Greenland on Friday. 

In an interview on Saturday with NBC, Trump indicated that military action regarding was not out of the question, according to the Associated Press.

“I believe there is a strong chance we could achieve it without military force,” Trump said. “This is about world peace, this is about international security,” he stated, but then added: “I am not ruling anything out.”

Although the Danish territory has expressed its desire to become independent from Copenhagen, it has said it is not interested in joining the U.S. Trump has repeatedly voiced his desire to acquire Greenland for the U.S., going back to his first term, as and Chinese presence increases in the Arctic. 

Surveys indicate that almost all Greenlanders are against becoming part of the United States. Anti-American protestors, some wearing “Make America Go Away” hats and holding “Yankees Go Home” signs, have held some of the largest demonstrations in Greenland’s history.

Digital’s Michael Dorgan, Diana Stancy, and The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. 

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