Greenland is seeking to strengthen ties with the United States, and its citizens should not fear an imminent American takeover, Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said on Monday, following renewed interest in the Arctic island by US President Donald Trump, Reuters reported. 

European powers rallied behind Greenland on Monday, after the US military operation in which Venezuela's leader was seized, rekindling concerns that the island, an autonomous Danish territory, might face a similar scenario.

"We are not in the situation where we are thinking that a takeover of the country might happen overnight," Nielsen said at a press conference in the capital Nuuk, speaking via a translator. "You cannot compare Greenland to Venezuela. We are a democratic country."