Greenland prime minister says 'no thanks' to Trump's hospital ship


A person displays a Greenlandic flag, as people protest in front of the U.S. consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, January 22, 2026. REUTERS/Marko Djurica/File Photo

(Refiles Feb 22 story ⁠to fix corrupted hyperlinks)

COPENHAGEN, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Greenland's Prime ⁠Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said on Sunday "no thanks" to U.S. ‌President Donald Trump's idea of sending a hospital ship to Greenland, a territory that Trump has repeatedly said he wishes to take over.

Trump said ​on Saturday on social media he ⁠was working with Louisiana ⁠Governor and special envoy to Greenland, Jeff Landry, to send a ⁠hospital ‌boat to Greenland.

"President Trump's idea of sending an American hospital ship here to Greenland has been ⁠noted. But we have a public healthcare system ​where treatment is ‌free for citizens. It is a deliberate choice," Nielsen ⁠said in ​a post on Facebook.

Nielsen said Greenland remained open to dialogue and cooperation, also with the U.S.

"But talk to us instead of ⁠just making more or less random ​outbursts on social media," he said.

Greenland, Denmark and the U.S. late last month launched diplomatic talks to resolve the crisis between ⁠the parties, following months of tension within the NATO defence alliance over Trump's threats against the Arctic territory.

Trump's post on the ship came hours after Denmark's Joint Arctic Command said ​it had evacuated a crew member ⁠who required urgent medical treatment from a U.S. submarine in ​Greenlandic waters, seven nautical miles outside ‌of Greenland's capital, Nuuk. It was ​unclear if the post had any connection to the evacuation.

(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen, editing by Louise Rasmussen)

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