Greenland¡¯s prime minister has categorically ruled out joining the U.S. and said the Arctic territory prefers to be in a union with Denmark, suggesting the island is putting independence plans on the back burner for now.

¡°We are now facing a geopolitical crisis, and if we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, then we choose Denmark,¡± Greenland¡¯s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said at a joint news conference with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in Copenhagen on Tuesday.

¡°We choose the Greenland we know today, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark,¡± he said.