Greenland Prime Minister Múte Egede said the island nation is “not for sale and never will be for sale”, after President-elect Donald Trump suggested the US should take it over.

Trump announced on social media early Monday that “for the purposes of national security and freedom throughout the world, the United States of America considers ownership and control of Greenland an absolute necessity.” Greenland, a large icy arctic island with over 50,000 inhabitants, is a self-governing area of ​​Denmark. The leader of Greenland quickly responded.

“Greenland is ours,” wrote Egede. “We are not for sale and we will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom.”

The announcement came just hours after Trump announced his intention to nominate Ken Howery as US Ambassador to Denmark. Howery was the US ambassador to Sweden during Trump’s first term.

This is not the first time that Trump has suggested that the US somehow buy the island. During Trump’s first term in 2019. he said he considered buying Greenland for strategic reasons. The leadership of Greenland made it clear that the island was not for sale even then.

Over the weekend, Trump also appeared to suggest that the US should take over the Panama Canal, which is owned and operated by the Panamanian government-owned Panama Canal Authority. The US uses the canal more than any other nation, according to the US State Department, with 72% of all ships going to or from US ports.

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino responded that “every square meter” of the canal “belongs to Panama and will continue to belong to Panama.”

– We’ll see about that! Trump announced after Mulion’s answer.

The Panama Canal was built by the USA at the beginning of the 20th century, and former President Jimmy Carter returned it to Panama in 1977 by treaty.