Now is not the time for Greenland to discuss independence or to risk its right to self-determination, the country’s prime minister said in new remarks, following claims by Donald Trump that the United States has a “vital” security need for the Arctic island.

In an interview with Greenlandic media published hours before a meeting at the White House between the Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers and U.S. officials J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio, Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen stressed that “the time has not come to talk about independence.”

“This is not the moment to play with our right to self-determination when another country says it wants to annex us,” he said.

“That does not mean we have no ambitions for the future. But for now, we are part of the Kingdom’s community, and we stand with it. This is extremely important in the current serious situation,” Nielsen added.

The Greenlandic leader said he hoped that Tuesday’s meeting in Washington would help “re-establish a dialogue with the United States that is smoother and more respectful.”

On Tuesday, Nielsen said that if forced to choose between Denmark and the United States, Greenland would side with Denmark. “That would be a big problem for him,” Trump responded. The U.S. president has not ruled out the use of force to take control of the Arctic island, which is part of the NATO alliance.

“We must believe that the principles of the international order will not be violated,” Nielsen said. “If we begin to undermine the fundamental principles of democracy, we will face a serious problem—not only in Greenland, but across the world.”

In response to U.S. pressure, Denmark’s defence minister said on Wednesday that the country was strengthening its military presence in Greenland and maintaining “continuous dialogue” with NATO to increase the alliance’s footprint in the Arctic.