Trump actively discussing potentially buying Greenland, White House says
US President Donald Trump and his officials are “actively” discussing a potential bid to buy Denmark’s Greenland region, the White House has confirmed.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Wednesday that this is “an issue that is being actively discussed by the president and his national security team at this time.”
Both Greenland and Denmark have repeatedly emphasized that the island is not for sale.
Asked why the Trump administration had previously said it had not ruled out using military force to seize Greenland, Leavitt said all options were always on the table but Trump’s “first option was always diplomacy.”
Concerns about the future of the region resurfaced after Trump used unilateral military force against Venezuela on Saturday to take on President Nicolás Maduro. NATO ally Denmark says an attack on its territory would end the military alliance.
The Trump administration says Greenland is vital to U.S. security.
Although it is the most sparsely populated region, its location between North America and the Arctic makes it well placed for early warning systems and tracking of ships in the area in the event of missile attacks.
Pituffik Cosmodrome, formerly known as Thule Air Base, has been operated by the United States since World War II.
In recent years, interest in Greenland’s natural resources such as rare earth minerals, uranium and iron has also increased. As the ice melts due to climate change, access to them becomes easier. Scientists think it may also have significant oil and gas reserves.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that he would hold talks with Denmark next week.
Trump previously made an offer to buy the island during his first presidential term in 2019, but was told that the island was not for sale.
“The purchase of Greenland by the United States is not a new idea,” Leavitt said.
“The president has been very clear to all of you and to the world that he thinks it would be in the interest of the United States to deter Russian and Chinese aggression in the Arctic region, and so his team is talking right now about what a potential acquisition would look like.”
The White House said earlier this week that Trump had discussed a number of options, including using military force to seize Greenland.
“All options are always on the table for President Trump as he examines what is in the best interest of the United States,” Leavitt said.
Earlier in the day, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Rubio “ruled out the possibility of an invasion” of Greenland in a phone call with him.
Barrot will meet with his German and Polish counterparts about the Arctic island later Wednesday.
On Tuesday, European leaders issued a joint statement supporting Denmark.
“Greenland belongs to its people, and only Denmark and Greenland can decide on matters concerning their relations,” the leaders of France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and Denmark said in a joint statement. he said.
Emphasizing that they are as keen as the United States on the security of the Arctic, the European signatories said that this should be achieved “collectively” by NATO allies, including the United States.
They also called for “upholding the principles of the UN Charter, including sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of frontiers.”
A day after U.S. military action in Venezuela, Katie Miller, the wife of one of Trump’s senior aides, posted on social media a map of Greenland in the colors of the U.S. flag with the words “SOON” written next to it.
On Monday, her husband, Stephen Miller, said “the official position of the US government is that Greenland should be part of the US.”
Aaja Chemnitz, one of two MPs representing Greenland in the Danish parliament, told the BBC that the Trump administration’s comments were a “clear threat”.
“It is completely disrespectful that the United States does not rule out annexing our country and annexing another NATO ally,” he said.
But Chemnitz said he saw this as unlikely – instead “we will see over time that they will put pressure on us to take over Greenland”.
Aleqatsiaq Peary, a 42-year-old Inuit hunter living in Greenland’s remote northern town of Qaanaaq, seemed indifferent to the potential for U.S. ownership.
“This means moving from one master to another, from one occupier to another,” he told the BBC. “We are a colony under Danish rule. We already lose a lot from being under the rule of the Danish government.”
He said he “doesn’t have time for Trump,” adding that people are “needy.” Hunters like himself used to hunt on the sea ice with dogs and fish, he said, “but the sea ice is melting and hunters can no longer make a living.”
Additional reporting by Adrienne Murray in Copenhagen
