President Trump, who has long said he wants to “get” the semiautonomous Danish territory, tapped Louisiana’s governor for the new position. Officials in Greenland and Denmark expressed outrage.

Mette Frederiksen of Denmark and Jens-Frederik Nielsen of Greenland have issued a joint statement to demand respect for their borders after America appointed a US envoy to Greenland.

Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark but the largely Indigenous population is making strides toward independence.