US President Donald Trump has been discussing a variety of options, including the use of military force, to acquire Greenland, the White House said.
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 supporting Denmark, which has opposed Trump’s ambitions for the Arctic island.
President Trump reiterated over the weekend that the United States needs Greenland for security reasons, and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned that any U.S. attack would spell the end of NATO.
“The President and his team are discussing a variety of options to pursue this important foreign policy objective, and, of course, leveraging U.S. military forces is always an option for the Commander-in-Chief,” the White House said Tuesday.
NATO is a transatlantic military group in which allies are expected to come to each other’s aid in case of external attack.
On Tuesday, six European allies expressed support for Denmark.
The leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and Denmark said in a joint statement that “Greenland belongs to its people and only Denmark and Greenland can decide on issues concerning their relationship.”
The joint statement’s European signatories stressed that they were as committed as the United States when it came to Arctic security, saying this must be achieved “collectively” 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 statement and called for “respectful dialogue.”
“Dialogue must take place while respecting the fact that Greenland’s status is rooted in international law and the principles of territorial integrity,” Prime Minister Nielsen said.
Questions about Greenland’s future have resurfaced due to the US military intervention in Venezuela. Venezuela’s elite forces have captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and charged him with drugs and weapons in New York.
A day after the raid, Katie Miller, the wife of a senior Trump adviser, posted on social media a map of Greenland in the colors of the American flag along with the word “SOON.”
On Monday, her husband, Stephen Miller, said “the official position of the United States government is that Greenland should become part of the United States.”
Asked in an interview with CNN whether he would rule out the United States using force to annex it, Miller responded, “No one is going to fight the United States over the future of Greenland.”
Greenland, with a population of 57,000, has had broad autonomy since 1979, but its defense and foreign policy remain in Danish hands.
Most Greenlanders favor independence from Denmark, but opinion polls show they are overwhelmingly opposed to becoming part of the United States, which already has a military base on the island.
Morgan Angaju, 27, an Inuit from the western province of Ilulissat, told the BBC: “It was scary to hear the leader of the free world ridicule Denmark and Greenland and talk about us like we claim to be.”
“We already have a claim by the Greenlanders. Kalaallit Nunaat means Land of the Greenlanders,” Morgan said.
He added that he was worried whether Greenland’s prime minister would suffer the same fate as Maduro, or even whether the United States would “invade our country.”
An unnamed senior U.S. official told Reuters that U.S. options include purchasing Greenland outright or signing 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 the American and Greenlanders.”
“Our common adversaries are becoming increasingly active in the Arctic. This is a concern shared by the United States, the Kingdom of Denmark, and our NATO allies,” the spokesperson said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also told lawmakers at a classified briefing on Capitol Hill Monday that the Trump administration has no plans to invade Greenland but mentioned purchasing it from Denmark, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Greenland and Denmark previously said they had requested to meet with Rubio quickly to discuss U.S. claims to the islands.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Roque Rasmussen said talks with senior U.S. diplomats would resolve “some misunderstandings.”
Senator Eric Schmitt, a Republican from Missouri, emphasized the national security aspect in an interview with the BBC on Tuesday.
“I think we’re having a conversation now,” he said. “I hope Europe understands that a strong America is good. It’s good for Western civilization.”
“Essentially, this is a big real estate deal,” Trump said during his first presidential term in 2019, referring to the idea of acquiring Greenland as a strategic U.S. hub in the Arctic.
Interest from Russia and China is growing as the possibility of new trade routes opening up as ice melts on the island, which has untapped rare earth reserves, increases.
In March, Trump said the United States would “go as far as we have to go” to take control of the territory.
At a congressional hearing last summer, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was asked whether the Pentagon had plans to seize Greenland by force if necessary, saying, “We have a plan in place just in case.”
