Europe (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – US Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans talks with Danish officials next week amid escalating NATO tensions over Greenland.
The foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland had called for an urgent conference, stating that any invasion or seizure of the region by its NATO member would signal the end of “post-second world war security” and the western military alliance.
Rubio, asked whether he would rule out military intervention in Greenland, told reporters in Washington:
“If the president identifies a threat to the national security of the United States, every president retains the option to address it through military means.
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.”
He added:
“I’m not here to talk about Denmark or military intervention. I’m going to meet them next week.”
On Tuesday, France announced that it was collaborating with allies to plan its response in the event that the United States invaded Greenland. The topic will be discussed at a meeting with the foreign ministers of Germany and Poland on Wednesday, according to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.
In a backhanded social media post criticizing NATO on Wednesday, Trump asserted that the United States would not abandon the alliance.
“We will always be there for Nato, even if they won’t be there for us,” he wrote on Truth Social. Russia and China would “have zero fear” of Nato without the US, he said. Addressing “all of those big Nato fans”,
he added:
“They were at 2% GDP, and most weren’t paying their bills, UNTIL I CAME ALONG.”
European countries rallied around Denmark and Greenland after one of Trump’s top aides said on Tuesday that the US might be prepared to take over the Arctic territory by force. They issued a rare rebuke to the White House, stating that Greenland “belongs to its people.”
In spite of this, the White House stated on Tuesday night that Trump and his staff were considering “a range of options” to obtain Greenland, including the deployment of the US military, which it claimed was “always an option.”
However, Barrot said that Rubio had informed him over the phone on Tuesday that he had “ruled out the possibility of an invasion” of Greenland.
“I myself was on the phone yesterday with US secretary of state, Marco Rubio … who confirmed that this was not the approach taken,”
he said.
Trump has long stated that he would like to acquire Greenland. However, following the US military intervention in Venezuela on Saturday that resulted in the removal of Nicolás Maduro, the country’s president, the Trump administration’s rhetoric has escalated to unprecedented levels, raising concerns about NATO’s continued existence.
The unique issue was discussed at an extraordinary meeting of the Danish parliament on Tuesday night.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt, announced that they were looking for an immediate meeting with Rubio to talk about Greenland.
Greenland, which the president has stated is essential to US national security, is “full of Chinese and Russian ships,” according to Trump, and Denmark is unable to defend it.
“The image that is being painted of Russian and Chinese ships right inside the Nuuk fjord and massive Chinese investments being made is not correct,”
he said.
The situation, Rasmussen said, was “based on a misreading of what is up and what is down”, adding:
“We are looking after the kingdom.”
Denmark’s defence minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, disputed US claims that the country was not doing enough to protect Greenland.
“We have invested close to 100bn [Danish kroner] (£11.6bn) in security capabilities,”
he said.
How would Danish sovereignty be affected by a US acquisition proposal?
A US accession of Greenland, whether by purchase or other means, would unnaturally undermine Danish sovereignty over the home, which Denmark has administered since 1721 under the Kingdom of Denmark, with Greenland enjoying tone- rule since 2009 but foreign affairs and defense remaining in Copenhagen’s sphere.
Denmark’s constitution subconvenes its ultimate authority, including proscription power over independence blackballs; any transfer would bear administrative concurrence, effectively ceding Arctic territorial control and NATO- linked defense agreements.
Danish PM Mette Frederiksen advised it would” end NATO” for Denmark, as Greenland’s status ties Danish alliance scores; forced preemption could accelerate Greenlandic independence pushes, destabilizing the region and inviting Russian/ Chinese influence without Danish oversight.