COPENHAGEN, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Greenland should hold direct talks with the U.S. government without Denmark, a Greenlandic opposition leader told Reuters, as the Arctic island weighs how to respond to President Donald Trump's renewed push to bring it under U.S. control.

Trump has recently stepped up threats to take over Greenland, reviving an idea he first floated in 2019 during his first term in office.

Greenland is strategically located between Europe and North America, making it a critical site for the U.S. ballistic missile defence system. Its rich mineral resources also fit Washington's goal of reducing dependence on China.

The island is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. It has its own parliament and government, but Copenhagen retains authority over foreign affairs and defence.

"We encourage our current (Greenlandic) government actually to have a dialogue with the U.S. government without Denmark," said Pele Broberg, the leader of Naleraq, the largest opposition party and the most prominent political voice for Greenland's independence.

"Because Denmark is antagonising both Greenland and the U.S. with their mediation."

Naleraq, which strongly advocates a rapid move to full independence, doubled its seats to eight in last year's election, winning 25% of the vote in the nation of just 57,000.

Although excluded from the governing coalition, the party has said it wants a defence agreement with Washington and could pursue a "free association" arrangement - under which Greenland would receive U.S. support and protection in exchange for military rights, without becoming a U.S. territory.

All Greenlandic parties want independence but differ on how, and when, to achieve it. 

GOVERNMENT SAYS DIRECT TALKS NOT POSSIBLE        

Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt said Greenland could not conduct direct talks with the U.S. without Denmark because it is not legally allowed to do so.

"We must respect the law, and we have rules for how to resolve issues in the Kingdom," she told Sermitsiaq daily late on Wednesday.

The Danish and Greenlandic governments did not immediately reply to requests for comment on Broberg's remarks.

The comments come ahead of a planned meeting between the Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio next week to address tensions between NATO allies.

Motzfeldt said it was important to set Greenland's relationship with Washington on a steady course.

"My greatest hope is that the meeting will lead to a normalisation of our relationship," she told Sermitsiaq.

Rubio appears not to favour a military operation, according to France's foreign minister. But others in the Trump administration say the option is on the table.

"We are going to make sure we defend America's interests," U.S. Vice President JD Vance told Fox News in an interview aired late on Wednesday. "And I think the president is willing to go as far as he has to make sure he does that."

(Reporting by Tom Little and Stine Jacobsen in Copenhagen; additional reporting by Soren Jeppesen; writing by Gwladys Fouche; Editing by Ros Russell)