BRUSSELS, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Greenland said on Friday that the island is "not up for sale" after U.S. President Donald Trump's reported interest to buy the island was widely ridiculed.
"#Greenland is rich in valuable resources such as minerals, the purest water and ice, fish stocks, seafood, renewable energy and is a new frontier for adventure tourism. We're open for business, not for sale," the ministry said on its official twitter account, following a Wall Street Journal report on Thursday that "in meetings, at dinners and in passing conversations, Mr. Trump has asked advisers whether the U.S. can acquire Greenland."
Trump's reported interest was met with disbelief and shock in Europe. Lars Lokke Rasmussen, who was the Prime Minister of Denmark until late June, said on Twitter that "It must be an April Fool's Day joke ... but totally out of sesson (season)!" Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark.
Aaja Chemnitz Larsen, a member of Danish parliament from Greenland, tweeted: "No thanks to Trump buying Greenland!" adding that a "better and more equal partnership with Denmark" should be the way forward.
Rasmus Jarlov, a conservative member of the Danish Parliament, tweeted "Out of all things that are not going to happen this is the most unlikely. Forget it."
Rufus Gifford, former U.S. ambassador to Denmark, said: "As someone who loves Greenland, has been there 9 times to every corner and loves the people, this is a complete and total catastrophe."
Greenland is the largest island in the world (excluding Australia, which is often defined as a continent), with a very small population of 56,000.
