COPENHAGEN, Dec 22 (Reuters) – Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said on Tuesday he was “sad” about U.S. President Donald Trump’s renewed expression of interest in acquiring the Arctic territory.

Nielsen shared his comments on Facebook after Trump reasserted on Monday that the United States needs Greenland for its national security and said a special envoy he has appointed to the vast, mineral-rich island would “lead the charge”.

(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen and Jagoda Darlak, editing by Gareth Jones)