US President Donald Trump and his team are discussing options for acquiring Greenland and utilising the US military in furtherance of the goal is "always an option," the White House has said.
"President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it's vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region.
"The president and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilising the US military is always an option at the commander-in-chief's disposal," the White House said in a statement in response to queries from Reuters.
Meanwhile, leaders from major European powers have rallied behind Greenland, saying in a joint statement that the Arctic island belongs to its people.
Mr Trump has in recent weeks repeated that he wants to gain control of Greenland, an idea first voiced in 2019 during his first presidency, arguing that it is vital for the US military, and that Denmark has not done enough to protect it.
A US military operation over the weekend in Venezuela that seized its leader has further rekindled concerns that Greenland might face a similar scenario.
Greenland has repeatedly said it does not want to be part of the United States.
"Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland," said the statement by leaders of France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Denmark.
The leaders said security in the Arctic must be achieved collectively with NATO allies, including the United States.
"NATO has made clear that the Arctic region is a priority and European Allies are stepping up," the statement said.
"We and many other allies have increased our presence, activities, and investments, to keep the Arctic safe and to deter adversaries."
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Denmark could count on the solidarity of all of Europe on the issue of Greenland.
"No member should attack or threaten another member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. Otherwise, NATO would lose its meaning if conflict or mutual conflicts occurred within the alliance," Mr Tusk told reporters in Warsaw.
The Netherlands also fully supports the joint statement, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said on X.
To fend off US criticism over Greenland's defence capabilities, Denmark last year pledged 42 billion Danish crowns ($6.58 billion) to boost its military presence in the Arctic.
White House statements 'devastating' and 'frightening'
Danish MEP Stine Bosse said that the statements from the White House were "devastating" and "frightening."
Speaking on RTÉ's Prime Time, Ms Bosse said Mr Trump's restating of his position that he wants to gain control of Greenland was "so puzzling" as she said the US currently had "complete access... in Greenland to have troops (there) within the regime of NATO (and) within the regime of the treaties between the kingdom of Denmark and the US."
She said that although the US military base in Greenland was now smaller than in the past it "could be extended".
She added that there was currently "no limit, there's no boundaries to how much military activity (the) US can actually establish in Greenland."
Ms Bosse said that the around 60,000 people living in Greenland were a "proud people" who wanted to "live peacefully, seek more independence and ... to realise the potential of the country they are living in."
The MEP said that while "Venezuela was a different situation completely", it had given rise to people saying that President Trump does what he says he will do.
"And then of course, when he continuously talks about Greenland and what he wants to do, it becomes very difficult," Ms Bosse said.
"I do think it is time for the European Union to stand together, stand firm, of course also with the UK, to make sure that Mr Trump understands that, you know, we are not just going to watch this."
Trump aide says world 'governed by force'
However, in comments likely to alarm Washington's European allies, White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller brushed aside concerns about Danish sovereignty and international law.
"You can talk all you want about international niceties and everything else. But we live in a world, in the real world, that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power," Mr Miller told CNN yesterday.
"There is no need to think or even talk about this in the context of a military operation. Nobody is going to fight the US militarily over the future of Greenland," Mr Miller added.
Just hours after Saturday's Venezuela operation, Mr Miller's wife, Katie Miller, posted a map of Greenland painted in Stars and Stripes on X, accompanied by the text "SOON".
Greenland, the world's largest island with a population of just 57,000 people, is not an independent member of NATO but is covered by Denmark's membership of the Western military alliance.
The island's strategic location between Europe and North America makes it a critical site for the US ballistic missile defence system. Its mineral wealth also aligns with Washington's ambition to reduce reliance on Chinese exports.
Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said yesterday that his government was seeking to strengthen ties with the United States and that citizens should not fear an imminent US takeover.
Trump's comments 'absolutely' a threat, says Professor
Professor of law at the University of Southern Denmark Graham Butler has said Mr Trump's comments on Greenland are "absolutely" being taken as a threat by Denmark.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Drivetime, Prof Butler said: "American interest in Greenland goes back many, many decades. We should not forget that the US had a more or less permanent establishment under a bilateral Denmark, with a US treaty since the 1950s, after the Second World War."
"The US has been involved in Arctic security through Greenland for many decades, but it is only the political rhetoric in recent years that has really ratcheted up," he said.
However, he said a lot of what has been said is "rhetoric" rather than "discussion" and that a lot of the rhetoric is unilateral but has been taken "quite seriously" by the European side.
Prof Butler said independence in Greenland has been understood as becoming independent from Denmark, not to join another state.
He said Denmark has openly said that if Greenland wants independence "they will give it and they will negotiate it", adding that it is a right built into international law in the UN charter and under customary international law.
"The right to self-determination of everyone’s people is one of the fundamental principles of the whole entire UN system," he said.
Denmark has long accepted an independent Greenland
Prof Butler said an independent Greenland is something that Denmark has long accepted as something that is possible and that if Greenland wanted to become independent and join another state then "that is their wish".
He said the problem is the unilateral nature of the discussion.
"The Greenlandic government are not open to negotiation about being bought by the US," said Prof Butler.
"Because any discussion about natural resources, minerals… they will want to see that as their own property, as part of their own state and not to be used as open to commercial interests from the US," he said.
"That is the more sensitive point."
Prof Butler said the Kingdom of Denmark and the US are both allies in military alliance "which are concerned with the collective defensive interests of those states against external threats".
"Therefore, the fact that the threats of moving Greenland from one state to another, coming from within the NATO framework is a little bit unprecedented," he said.
Prof Butler said there is nothing to stop the US, Demark and other NATO member states enhancing security in the region without moving Greenland from one state to another.
"That can be done under existing frameworks, it can be done under new negotiations and a new international treaty… it does not involve one state," he said.
"The objective can be achieved under other measures, rather than just talks about annexation or mobilisation of any sort of forces unintendedly wanted by the Greenlanders or Denmark."
