Trump discussing how to acquire Greenland, US military always an option, White House says

By Steve Holland, Jeff Mason and Bo Erickson

WASHINGTON, Jan 6 (Reuters) – The White House said on Tuesday that President Donald Trump is discussing options for acquiring Greenland, including potential use of the U.S. military, in a revival of his ambition to control the strategic island despite European objections.

Trump sees acquiring Greenland as a U.S. national security priority necessary to “deter our adversaries in the Arctic region,” the White House said in a statement.

“The president and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the U.S. military is always an option at the commander-in-chief’s disposal,” the White House said.

Greenland has repeatedly said it does not want to be part of the United States. Leaders from major European powers and Canada rallied behind the Arctic territory on Tuesday, saying it belongs to its people.

A U.S. military seizure of Greenland from a longtime ally, Denmark, would send shock waves through the NATO alliance and deepen the divide between Trump and European leaders.

The strong opposition has not deterred Trump from reviewing how to make Greenland a U.S. hub in an area where there is growing interest from Russia and China. Trump’s interest, initially voiced in 2019 during his first term in office, has been rekindled in recent days in the wake of the U.S. arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Emboldened by Maduro’s capture last weekend, Trump has voiced his belief that “American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again,” and has put pressure on both Colombia and Cuba.

He has also started talking about Greenland again after putting it on the back burner for months.

A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said Trump and his advisers are discussing a variety of ways to acquire Greenland.

IS GREENLAND FOR SALE?

Those options include the outright U.S. purchase of Greenland or forming a Compact of Free Association with the territory, the official said. A COFA agreement would stop short of Trump’s ambition to make the island of 57,000 people a part of the United States. 

The official did not provide a potential purchase price.

“Diplomacy is always the president’s first option with anything, and dealmaking. He loves deals. So if a good deal can be struck to acquire Greenland, that would definitely be his first instinct,” the official said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers that recent administration threats against Greenland did not signal an imminent invasion and that the goal is to buy the island from Denmark during a classified briefing late on Monday for congressional leaders, two sources familiar with the briefing said.

The Wall Street Journal first reported Rubio’s comment.

Members of Congress, including some of Trump’s fellow Republicans, pushed back against the administration’s comments on Greenland, noting that NATO member Denmark has been a loyal U.S. ally.

“When Denmark and Greenland make it clear that Greenland is not for sale, the United States must honor its treaty obligations and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark,” Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, the co-chairs of the Senate NATO Observer Group, said in a statement.

Administration officials say the island is crucial to the U.S. due to its deposits of minerals important for high-tech and military applications. These resources remain untapped due to labor shortages, scarce infrastructure and other challenges.

“It’s not going away,” the official said about the president’s drive to acquire Greenland during his remaining three years in office.

(Reporting by Steve Holland, Jeff Mason and Bo Erickson; Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Lisa Shumaker)