Denmark and Greenland are seeking an urgent meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio after the Trump administration reinforced its stance on potentially taking control of Greenland, a strategic Arctic territory that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
Tensions escalated this week after the White House said that the use of the U.S. military to secure Greenland “is always an option,” prompting strong pushback from European leaders who rejected President Donald Trump’s renewed assertions that the United States should assume control of the island for national security reasons.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned that any U.S. takeover of Greenland would effectively mark the end of the NATO alliance. Her remarks were echoed Tuesday in a joint statement by the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom, who affirmed that the mineral-rich Arctic island “belongs to its people.”
The statement emphasized Greenland’s sovereignty, noting that the territory is self-governing under Denmark and therefore part of NATO.
Trump has periodically raised the idea of acquiring Greenland since his first term, arguing that U.S. control of the world’s largest island is necessary to counter growing Chinese and Russian activity in the Arctic. He reiterated that position over the weekend.
“It’s so strategic right now,” Trump told reporters Sunday.
European unease has been heightened by the Trump administration’s recent military operation in Venezuela, with officials across the continent expressing concern that U.S. foreign policy is becoming increasingly coercive. Against that backdrop, Trump and senior advisers have again emphasized their interest in Greenland, which sits astride critical Arctic and North Atlantic routes to North America.
According to a statement posted Tuesday on Greenland’s government website, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland’s foreign affairs minister Vivian Motzfeldt have formally requested a meeting with Rubio in the near future. The statement noted that previous efforts to arrange such a meeting were unsuccessful.
While most Republicans have publicly backed Trump’s position, the rhetoric drew rare bipartisan criticism in the U.S. Senate. Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Thom Tillis, the Democratic and Republican co-chairs of the Senate NATO Observer Group, issued a joint statement condemning the administration’s language.
“When Denmark and Greenland make it clear that Greenland is not for sale, the United States must honor its treaty obligations and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark,” the senators said. “Any suggestion that the United States would coerce a fellow NATO ally undermines the principles of self-determination that the Alliance exists to defend.”
The dispute has added fresh strain to transatlantic relations, with European leaders warning that continued U.S. pressure over Greenland could have lasting consequences for NATO unity.
