U.S. discusses options to acquire Greenland, including use of military force

The White House says US President Donald Trump has been discussing “a range of options” for acquiring Greenland, including using the military.

The White House told the BBC that acquiring Greenland – a semi-autonomous region of NATO member Denmark – was a “national security priority”.

The statement came hours after European leaders issued a joint statement in support of Denmark, which has opposed Trump’s ambitions for the Arctic islands.

Trump reiterated over the weekend that the United States “needs” Greenland for security reasons, prompting Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to warn that any U.S. attack would spell the end of NATO.

“The President and his team are discussing a range of options to achieve this important foreign policy goal, and, of course, leveraging U.S. military forces is always an option available to the commander in chief,” the White House said Tuesday.

NATO is a transatlantic military organization whose allies are expected to provide aid to each other in the event of external attack.

On Tuesday, six European allies expressed support for Denmark.

“Greenland belongs to the people of Greenland and only Denmark and Greenland can decide questions about their relationship,” the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and Denmark said in a joint statement.

European signatories to the joint statement stressed that they shared the United States’ passion for Arctic security and said this must be achieved “together” by NATO allies, including the United States.

They also called for “upholding the principles of the United Nations Charter, including sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of borders.”

Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen welcomed the announcement and called for a “respectful dialogue.”

“The dialogue must respect the fact that Greenland’s status is rooted in international law and the principle of territorial integrity,” Nielsen said.

The question of Greenland’s future has resurfaced following the U.S. military intervention in Venezuela. During this period, elite forces arrested the country’s president Nicolas Maduro and took him to face drug and weapons charges in New York.

One day after the attack, Katie Miller, the wife of one of Trump’s top aides, posted a map of Greenland on social media in the colors of the U.S. flag with the word “soon” written next to it.

Her husband, Stephen Miller, said on Monday that “the official position of the U.S. government is that Greenland should become part of the United States.”

Asked repeatedly in an interview with CNN whether the United States had ruled out using force to annex Greenland, Miller responded: “No one is going to fight the United States for the future of Greenland.”

Greenland, home to 57,000 people, has had broad autonomy since 1979, but defense and foreign policy remain in Danish hands.

While a majority of Greenlanders support eventual independence from Denmark, polls show an overwhelming majority opposes joining the United States, which already has a military base on the island.

Morgan Angaju, 27, an Inuit living in Ilulissat in the country’s western region, told the BBC it was “horrible to hear the leader of the free world mock Denmark and Greenland and talk about us as if we were something that could be claimed”.

“The people of Greenland have claimed our sovereignty. Kalaallit Nunaat means the land of the people of Greenland,” Morgan said.

He added that he was worried about what would happen next — wondering whether Greenland’s prime minister would suffer the same fate as Maduro — and even worried about the U.S. “invading our country.”

A senior U.S. official told Reuters on condition of anonymity that U.S. options include buying Greenland outright or entering into a free association agreement with the territory.

In response, a State Department spokesperson told the BBC on Tuesday that the United States was “eager to build a lasting commercial relationship that benefits Americans and the people of Greenland.”

“Our common adversaries are increasingly active in the Arctic. This is a concern shared by the United States, the Kingdom of Denmark and our NATO allies,” the spokesman said.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also told lawmakers at a classified briefing on Capitol Hill on Monday that the Trump administration did not plan to invade Greenland but mentioned buying it from Denmark, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Greenland and Denmark have previously said they have requested a meeting with Rubio as soon as possible to discuss U.S. claims to the island.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lok Rasmussen said talks with the top U.S. diplomat should resolve “certain misunderstandings.”

Republican Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri highlighted national security concerns in an interview with the BBC on Tuesday.

“I think they’re just negotiating right now,” he said. “I hope Europe will understand that a strong America is a good thing – it’s good for Western civilization.”

Trump floated the idea of ​​acquiring Greenland as a strategic U.S. hub in the Arctic during his first term, saying in 2019: “Essentially it’s a big real estate deal.”

Russia and China are increasingly interested in the island, which has untapped rare earth deposits, as melting ice increases the possibility of new trade routes.

In March, Trump said the United States would “do whatever it takes” to gain control of the territory.

During a congressional hearing last summer, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was asked whether the Pentagon planned to seize Greenland by force if necessary, and he said they “have plans for any contingency.”