The prime minister of Greenland said Friday that the people of his mineral-rich Arctic territory do not want to be Americans, but he said he understood the U.S. interest in the island given its strategic location and he is open to greater cooperation with the United States.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump says he wants to make Greenland a part of the United States and does not rule out using military or economic power to get Denmark to hand it over.

The island’s rare earth minerals and plum Arctic position have turned it into a geopolitical hotspot and the object of American fantasies.