Greenland has again said it is not for sale after US President-elect Donald Trump said he wanted to take control of the territory.

“Greenland belongs to the people of Greenland,” the prime minister said Monday, a day after Trump made repeated comments about the Arctic island that he first made several years ago.

Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, is home to a major U.S. space facility and lies on the shortest route from the U.S. to Europe, making it strategically important to America.

There was no immediate reaction from Denmark to Trump’s comments.

The US president-elect wrote on his social media platform Truth Social on Sunday: “For the purposes of national security and freedom around the world, the United States of America believes that ownership and control of Greenland is absolute Necessity are.” “

His comments prompted a sharp rebuke from Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede, who said: “We are not for sale and will not be for sale.”

“We must not lose our long fight for freedom. However, we must continue to be open to cooperation and trade with the whole world, especially with our neighbors,” he said.

Trump’s controversial comments came hours after he announced that he planned to appoint Ken Howery, his former ambassador to Sweden, as the new ambassador to Denmark.

Mr Howery said he was “deeply humbled” by the nomination and looked forward to working with staff at the US Embassy in Copenhagen and the US Consulate in Greenland to “deepen the bonds between our countries”.

Trump’s initial proposal in 2019 that the U.S. acquire Greenland, the world’s largest island, drew a similarly sharp rebuke from leaders there.

Then-Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederickson, who still holds the office, called the idea “absurd,” prompting Trump to do so cancel a state trip to the country.

He is not the first US president to propose purchasing Greenland. The idea was first discussed in the 1860s under the presidency of Andrew Johnson.

Separately on Sunday Donald Trump threatened to regain control of the Panama Canalone of the world’s most important waterways, and accused Panama of overcharging for access to the strait.

Panama’s president later said “every square meter” of the canal and surrounding areas belonged to his country.