US lawmakers seek to reassure Denmark over White House efforts to acquire Greenland

A bipartisan congressional delegation was scheduled to meet with Danish and Greenlandic officials on Friday in an effort to show support for Greenland’s territorial integrity despite President Trump’s comments. continuous thrust to acquire the island.

The White House said Thursday that discussions involving Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Danish officials earlier this week were “technical talks on the acquisition of Greenland.” This claim was strongly rejected by Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, who told Danish broadcaster TV2 on Thursday that if the US side started more talks with this mindset, then it would be a “very, very short series of meetings.”

U.S. special envoy to Greenland Jeff Landry told Fox News on Friday that he believes a deal can be reached on the U.S. acquiring Greenland and plans to visit the island in March.

“The president is serious. I think he’s laid the groundwork. He’s told Denmark what he’s looking for, and now it’s about convincing Secretary Rubio and Vice President JD Vance to make a deal,” Landry said, according to the Reuters news agency.

The leaders of Denmark and Greenland repeatedly rejected the idea of ​​an American takeover of the island. Earlier this week, Rasmussen, Denmark’s top diplomat, said his country and the United States still had “fundamental” differences over Greenland’s future but would continue to talk.

Greenland, the largest island in the world located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, is a self-governing Danish territory. Mr. Trump argued that the United States must control the vast, largely frozen island to reasons of national security, to counter the geopolitical threat posed by Russia and China. The president does not rule out seizing the territory by military force.

Speaking Friday at the University of Copenhagen, Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who is participating in the congressional visit, told participants that “millions of Americans are deeply concerned by recent rhetoric that the United States would seize Greenland, either by purchasing it or using military force.”

“This rhetoric not only damages our bilateral relations, it damages the NATO Alliance at a time when our adversaries seek to profit from division,” Shaheen said. “(Russian President) Vladimir Putin would welcome any steps that could fracture NATO or divert attention and resources away from Ukraine,” Shaheen said.

Denmark is a member of the U.S.-led military alliance and several NATO members have expressed concerns about the Trump administration’s rhetoric regarding Greenland.

On Thursday, Danish soldiers arrived on site, while have the troops of NATO partners, including France,Germany and the Netherlands with the aim of strengthening the security of the island.

“At the request of Denmark, I have decided that France will participate in the joint exercises organized by Denmark in Greenland, Operation Arctic Endurance,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in a message on social media on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters at a press briefing on Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the presence of European troops in Greenland had no impact on Mr. Trump’s “Greenland acquisition goal.”

Earlier this month, the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom and Greenland said “Greenland belongs to its people” in a joint statement, while emphasizing that U.S. NATO allies take security in the Arctic region seriously.

“NATO has made clear that the Arctic region is a priority and European Allies are intensifying their efforts. We and many other Allies have increased our presence, activities and investments, to ensure Arctic security and deter adversaries,” the statement said.

Potential US military action in Greenland could jeopardize the eight-decade-old NATO alliance. Under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, an armed attack against a NATO member is considered an attack against the entire alliance. Any American action in Greenland could call into question this central principle.

Article 5 has only been invoked once in history, following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. In subsequent US-led invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, NATO allies including Denmark provided military support to the United States on the ground.