US Discusses Greenland Ownership with Denmark Next Week
Discussions Between US and Denmark on Greenland
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that discussions will be held with Denmark next week amid concerns regarding America's interest in purchasing the Danish territory of Greenland. Rubio's statement followed a meeting with US senators, coming a day after the White House indicated that President Donald Trump had discussed options that could include military force to acquire Greenland.
Worries about the territory's future resurfaced after Trump's unilateral military action against Venezuela on Saturday, aimed at taking down President Nicolás Maduro. The Trump administration asserts that Greenland is vital for US security. On the other hand, Denmark insists that any military attack would end the NATO military alliance.
“If the president identifies a threat to the national security of the United States, every president has the option to respond by military means,” Rubio stated on Wednesday. “As a diplomat, which is what I am now, we always prefer to resolve issues through other means - as was the case with Venezuela.”
On the same day, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot mentioned that Rubio had “excluded the possibility of an invasion” of Greenland during a phone call with him. Barrot is set to discuss the strategic Arctic island with his German and Polish counterparts later that day.
On Tuesday, European leaders issued a joint statement supporting Denmark in its defense against Trump's ambitions. “Greenland belongs to its inhabitants, and only Denmark and Greenland can decide on their relations,” the leaders of France, the UK, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Denmark stated in a joint declaration. Emphasizing their shared interest in Arctic security alongside the US, the European signatories affirmed that this should be achieved by NATO allies, including the US, “collectively.” They also called for “respect for the principles of the UN Charter, including sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the inviolability of borders.”
The day after the US military actions in Venezuela, Katie Miller, wife of a senior advisor to Trump, posted on social media a map of Greenland in the colors of the American flag, alongside the word “COMING SOON.” On Monday, her husband, Stephen Miller, stated that it is “the official position of the US government that Greenland should be part of the USA.”
Morgan Angaju, a 27-year-old Inuit living in Ilulissat, western Greenland, expressed that it was “frightening to hear the leader of the free world laughing at Denmark and Greenland and talking about us as if we are something to be claimed.”
