The White House confirmed on Tuesday that President Donald Trump is reconsidering various options to retake Greenland, including the potential use of the US military. At stake is the purchase of the island or the conclusion of a free association agreement that would leave Greenland with a degree of autonomy.
Greenland, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, has repeatedly stressed that it is "not for sale", it does not want to be part of the United States and the territory belongs to its people. The island of 57,000 inhabitants has had extensive self-government since 1979, although defence and foreign policy remain in Danish hands.
The allies are negotiating
Meanwhile, European allies are working closely together on a plan to respond if the United States follows through on its threat to take over Greenland.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said they would discuss the issue at a meeting with the foreign ministers of Germany and Poland later on Wednesday. "We want to act, but we want to do so together with our European partners," he told France Inter radio.
A German government source told Reuters that Germany was "working closely with other European countries and Denmark on the next steps regarding Greenland".
However, Barrot suggested that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had ruled out the possibility of a military invasion of Greenland in a phone call. According to Wall Street Journal sources, Rubio in turn told US lawmakers that the US goal is to buy the island.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt have requested an urgent meeting with Rubio to discuss the situation.
The importance of Greenland
Trump has identified Greenland as a national security priority to "deter our adversaries in the Arctic region." The US head of state claims that the island is surrounded by "Chinese and Russian ships". However, the world's largest island denies this. In fact, ship tracking data from MarineTraffic and LSEG services do not show the presence of Chinese or Russian vessels in its vicinity.
Greenland has large reserves of oil, critical minerals and other raw materials. The territory could also become increasingly important economically in the coming decades as new Arctic shipping routes open up due to the melting of polar ice.
There is already a US military base in the strategic territory between Europe and North America, and Copenhagen has expressed its willingness to allow the deployment of additional US troops.
The end of NATO?
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Monday that a possible takeover of Greenland by the United States would spell the end of the NATO military alliance. "If the United States decided to attack another NATO country, then everything would stop - including NATO and therefore the post-World War II security architecture," Frederiksen stressed.
The Danish prime minister issued her statement after Katie Miller - the wife of one of Trump's senior advisers, Stephen Miller - posted a map of Greenland in the colours of the US flag on social media, along with the word "soon".
The Danish ambassador to the US responded to Miller's post with a "friendly reminder" that the two countries are allies and that Denmark expects its territorial integrity to be respected.
Greenland's prime minister dampens passions
On Tuesday, Frederiksen released a joint statement with the leaders of Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom in which the politicians reiterated that European allies are stepping up their efforts to "keep the Arctic safe and deter adversaries."
The seven leaders also stressed that Washington "is an indispensable partner in this effort".
Meanwhile, Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen called for renewed "good cooperation" with the United States, and urged Greenlanders "not to panic."
"The situation is not such that the United States can conquer Greenland. That situation has not arisen," Nielsen added in the Greenlandic capital Nuuk.
In a social media post on Monday, he urged Trump to give up his "fantasies" of annexing Greenland.
(reuters, dw, est)