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Denmark and Greenland are seeking a gathering with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio aft the Trump medication doubled down connected its volition to instrumentality implicit the strategical Arctic island, a Danish territory.
Tensions escalated aft the White House said connected Tuesday that the "U.S. subject is ever an option", adjacent arsenic a bid of European leaders rejected President Donald Trump's renewed calls for the US to instrumentality implicit Greenland, citing strategical reasons.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned earlier this week that a U.S. takeover would magnitude to the extremity of the NATO subject alliance.
Also Read | France moving with allies connected program should U.S. determination connected Greenland
“The Nordics bash not lightly marque statements similar this,” Maria Martisiute, a defence expert astatine the European Policy Centre deliberation tank, told The Associated Press connected Wednesday (January 7, 2026).
“But it is Trump, whose precise bombastic connection bordering connected nonstop threats and intimidation, is threatening the information to different state by saying 'I volition power oregon annex the territory'.”
The leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the U.K. joined Mr. Frederiksen successful a connection Tuesday reaffirming that the mineral-rich land “belongs to its people”.
Their connection defended the sovereignty of Greenland, which is simply a self-governing territory of Denmark and frankincense portion of NATO.
Mr. Trump has floated since his archetypal word the thought of acquiring Greenland, arguing that the U.S. needs to power the world's largest land to guarantee its ain information successful the look of rising threats from China and Russia successful the Arctic.
This weekend's U.S. subject enactment successful Venezuela has heightened fears crossed Europe, and Mr. Trump and his advisers successful caller days person reiterated the U.S. leader's tendency to instrumentality implicit the island, which guards the Arctic and North Atlantic approaches to North America.
“It's truthful strategical close now,” Mr. Trump told reporters Sunday (January 4, 2026) .
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt, person requested a gathering with Mr. Rubio successful the adjacent future, according to a connection posted connected Tuesday (January 6) to Greenland's authorities website. Previous requests for a sit-down were not successful, the connection said.
While astir U.S. Republicans person supported Mr. Trump's statement, Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Thom Tillis, the Democratic and Republican co-chairs of the bipartisan Senate NATO Observer Group, blasted Mr. Trump's rhetoric successful a connection connected Tuesday.
“When Denmark and Greenland marque it wide that Greenland is not for sale, the United States indispensable honour its pact obligations and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark,” the connection said.
“Any proposition that our federation would taxable a chap NATO state to coercion oregon outer unit undermines the precise principles of self-determination that our Alliance exists to defend.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said helium spoke by telephone connected Tuesday with Mr. Rubio, who dismissed the thought of a Venezuela-style cognition successful Greenland.
“In the United States, determination is monolithic enactment for the state belonging to NATO – a rank that, from 1 time to the next, would beryllium compromised by... immoderate signifier of aggressiveness toward different subordinate of NATO,” Mr. Barrot told France Inter vigor Wednesday.
Asked if helium has a program successful lawsuit Trump does assertion Greenland, Mr. Barrot said helium won't prosecute successful “fiction diplomacy”.
