Rubio to Meet Danish Leaders to Discuss Greenland Next Week

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Jan. 7 that he would meet with leaders of Denmark next week, but indicated no retreat from the Trump administration’s ambition for the United States to take over Greenland.

The rhetoric around the Arctic island, a self-governing Danish territory, has ramped up since the weekend’s U.S. military operation to capture the leader of Venezuela, fueling concerns that President Donald Trump could order a seizure of Greenland.

Trump’s repeated insistence that the United States should control Greenland for strategic reasons has garnered reactions from NATO allies, including France and Germany, who said on Jan. 7 that they were working on a response to any military action.

Rubio did not take the possibility of military action off the table, telling reporters that Trump retained all options to address his objective of controlling the island.

“As a diplomat, which is what I am now, and what we work on, we always prefer to settle it in different ways. That included in Venezuela,” Rubio said when asked whether the United States was prepared to potentially jeopardize the NATO military alliance, of which Denmark is a member as well.

‘Sensible Dialogue’

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt, had requested an urgent meeting with Rubio to discuss the escalating situation with the United States.

“We would like to add some nuance to the conversation,” Rasmussen wrote on social media. “The shouting match must be replaced by a more sensible dialogue. Now.”

The Arctic land mass is strategically located between Europe and North America, making it a critical site for the U.S. ballistic missile defense system for decades. While geographically closer to North America, it has been part of the Nordic kingdoms of Denmark and, previously, Norway, for more than 600 years.

Taking control of the valuable, rare minerals that lie beneath the ice could support Washington’s need to reduce its reliance on China.

Trump first mentioned his plans for Greenland in 2019, during his first presidency. More recently, he appointed Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry as special envoy to Greenland in December 2025, saying Landry would “lead the charge.”

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has said that Trump’s intentions for Greenland must be taken seriously. She said on Jan. 5 that a U.S. military takeover of Greenland would effectively spell the end of the NATO alliance.

The U.S. president has said that Denmark has not done enough to protect the defense capabilities of the territory, telling reporters on Jan. 4 that the Danes had “added one more dog sled.”

Existing Treaties

An existing treaty signed with Denmark in 1951 gives the United States military access to the island, operating within the framework of NATO and Danish sovereignty, with Denmark retaining ultimate authority. A bilateral defense cooperation treaty between the United States and Denmark, signed in December 2023, allows a more permanent presence of U.S. forces at specific Danish military bases.

The White House said on Jan. 6 that Trump was discussing options for acquiring Greenland, including potential use of the military, despite the objections of European allies.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Jan. 7 that a potential purchase of Greenland was being actively discussed by Trump and his national security team.

“All options are always on the table for President Trump. … The president’s first option always has been diplomacy,” she said.

Speaker Dismisses Military Action

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Jan. 7 dismissed the idea of the United States sending troops to Greenland, or any other military action targeting the Danish-controlled island territory.

“So, all this stuff about military action and all that, I don’t even think that’s a possibility.”

A deal to obtain Greenland would not be as simple as the Alaska purchase in 1867. Alaska was a colony of imperial Russia when Russia sold Alaska to the United States for $7.2 million. Although Greenland remains part of the Kingdom of Denmark, it has not been a Danish colony since 1953.

Greenland has had home rule since 1979 and self-government since 2009, with a clause allowing for independence if Greenlanders voted for it. While a majority (56 percent) said they favor independence in a January 2025 poll, this appears unlikely while the economy depends heavily on Danish subsidies.

And just 6 percent of Greenlanders in the poll said they wanted to leave the Danish realm and become part of the United States.

Leaders from major European powers and Canada have rallied behind Greenland this week, saying it belongs to its people, while also supporting Denmark’s sovereignty over the territory.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has expressed support for Denmark over Greenland, spoke with Trump on Jan. 7 and set out his position, the UK government said.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said he would discuss the Greenland situation with his German and Polish counterparts on Jan. 7.

“We want to take action, but we want to do so together with our European partners,” he told France Inter radio.

Barrot suggested that Rubio had ruled out a military operation.

“I myself was on the phone with the Secretary of State yesterday. … He discarded the idea that what just happened in Venezuela could happen in Greenland,” he said.

The decision-making branch of NATO is due to meet on Thursday, with Johannes Koskinen, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Finland’s parliament, calling for the issue to be raised there.

Koskinen urged NATO allies to “address whether something needs to be done and whether the United States should be brought into line in the sense that it cannot disregard jointly agreed plans in order to pursue its own power ambitions.”

While not an independent member of NATO, Greenland is part of the organization through Denmark’s membership in the same way that its citizens are members of the European Union.

‘Never Been for Sale’

The world’s largest island, Greenland is sparsely populated with fewer than 60,000 inhabitants.

EU Council President António Costa said on Jan. 7 that the bloc of 27 countries would support Greenland and Denmark if needed and would not accept “violations of international law” no matter where they occur.

Greenland continues to reject annexation by the United States, said Aaja Chemnitz, a Greenlandic member of the Danish parliament.

“Greenland has never been for sale and never will be for sale,” she said, adding that Washington’s not altogether ruling out a military intervention was “completely appalling.”

Trump has said that Russian and Chinese ships are stalking the Arctic waters around Greenland, although Denmark disputes this.

Reuters contributed to this report.