Rubio to Meet Danish Officials Over Trump’s Greenland Push/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed he will meet with Danish officials to discuss U.S. interest in acquiring Greenland. President Trump has revived plans to purchase the Arctic island, prompting warnings from NATO allies. Rubio insists diplomacy is the focus, despite military threats.
Greenland Controversy Quick Looks
- Marco Rubio to meet Danish leaders over Greenland dispute
- Trump administration renews push to acquire Greenland for U.S.
- Rubio says intention is purchase, not military annexation
- Denmark, NATO allies condemn threats to sovereignty
- Trump claims Greenland key to U.S. Arctic security
- EU leaders call Greenland “not for sale”
- France, UK, Germany, others reject Trump’s rhetoric
- Rubio declines to rule out military options when asked
- Greenland, Denmark request formal sit-down with U.S. diplomats
- Tensions escalate within NATO over Trump’s Arctic ambitions
Rubio to Meet Danish Officials Over Trump’s Greenland Push
Deep Look
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday that he will meet with Danish officials next week to discuss the Trump administration’s renewed interest in acquiring Greenland — a self-governing territory of Denmark — in a move that has alarmed U.S. allies and reignited tensions within NATO.
President Donald Trump has long argued that the U.S. needs control over the world’s largest island due to its strategic Arctic location and growing competition with China and Russia. While Rubio stated the administration’s intent is to purchase the island diplomatically, the White House has refused to rule out the use of military force, raising international concerns.
Rubio, speaking to reporters and lawmakers, confirmed that “the president has been talking about acquiring Greenland since his first term.” He added, “He’s not the first U.S. president that has examined or looked at how we could acquire Greenland.”
In a private classified briefing earlier this week, Rubio reportedly told lawmakers that the administration favors a purchase, not an invasion. The comments were first reported by the Wall Street Journal and later confirmed by an anonymous source familiar with the meeting.
Still, Rubio declined to directly answer whether the administration was willing to risk the NATO alliance by entertaining military intervention.
“I’m not here to talk about Denmark or military intervention,” he told reporters. “We’ll have those conversations with them next week.”
The remarks followed growing backlash after the White House said Tuesday that “U.S. military is always an option.” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned that any forced takeover of Greenland would spell the “end of NATO.” Leaders from France, Germany, the UK, Italy, Poland, and Spain released a joint statement Tuesday affirming that Greenland “belongs to its people” and is not up for sale or annexation.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland’s Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt have formally requested a meeting with Rubio, after previous attempts at dialogue went unanswered. The request, posted on Greenland’s official government website, reflects mounting pressure from Denmark to secure assurances that U.S. actions will remain within diplomatic norms.
Thomas Crosbie, a professor at the Royal Danish Defense College, argued that the U.S. gains nothing by annexing Greenland. “They already enjoy all the strategic advantages,” he said. “If they want more security access, they’ll be granted it as a trusted ally. This has nothing to do with improving American security.”
Denmark’s Parliament had already approved a defense agreement with the U.S. in 2023 under President Biden, expanding U.S. troop access to Danish air bases. In June 2025, a new law allowed for American military presence on Danish soil. But that agreement could be revoked, Rasmussen noted last summer, if the U.S. attempts to annex Greenland unilaterally.
The U.S. military currently operates the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a remote Arctic installation seen as a key asset in space and Arctic surveillance. While Rubio dismissed questions about a Venezuela-style operation in Greenland, some experts say the presence of American personnel could be used to quickly assert control if ordered.
“They don’t need to bring in 500 troops,” said Crosbie. “They could simply drive into Nuuk and declare, ‘This is America now.’ The global impact would be the same — the erosion of international law and norms.”
The French government took the unusual step of publicly addressing the matter, with Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot confirming he had spoken with Rubio by phone. Barrot said he was told the U.S. would not replicate its recent operation in Venezuela, which saw U.S. forces capture President Nicolás Maduro.
Still, many European officials remain unconvinced. “From one day to the next, NATO could be compromised if the U.S. acts aggressively toward a member,” Barrot told France Inter radio.
While most Republicans have rallied behind Trump, some in Congress are voicing unease. In a bipartisan statement, Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Thom Tillis (R-NC), co-chairs of the Senate NATO Observer Group, warned against coercive diplomacy.
“When Denmark and Greenland make it clear that Greenland is not for sale, the United States must honor its treaty obligations,” they wrote. “Any suggestion that we would pressure a NATO ally undermines the very principles our alliance stands to defend.”
The prospect of Greenland becoming a geopolitical flashpoint has startled even seasoned defense analysts. Its mineral wealth, Arctic proximity, and surveillance value make it strategically appealing, but few believed a U.S. administration would openly threaten to annex it.
For now, Rubio maintains that talks with Danish and Greenlandic officials will proceed diplomatically. But with NATO’s unity in question and European leaders sounding alarms, Washington faces mounting pressure to dial back its rhetoric and clarify its intentions.
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