If sovereignty had a price, humanity would be bankrupt

Whether it is the capricious use of tariff pressure or the outdated fantasy of "purchasing" Greenland, such notions must be firmly rejected — because territory is not a product, and sovereignty is not something to be kneaded and reshaped at will.

Looking back to 1917, Denmark sold the islands in the West Indies it had previously ruled, now known as the US Virgin Islands, to the United States for $25 million in gold. That was an era when colonial logic still prevailed, a time when powerful nations could transfer territory with little more than a signed contract and a sack of gold. For around a thousand years, Greenland has been home to Inuit people who today enjoy the right to self-determination. The international community has a long-established consensus centered on the United Nations Charter: state sovereignty is equal, territorial integrity is inviolable, and any attempt to put a price tag on people and their land constitutes a fundamental betrayal of modern civilization.