Trump advisers meet with Denmark, Greenland envoys, Danish official says

By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON, Jan 8 (Reuters) – Aides to U.S. President Donald Trump met at the White House on Thursday with envoys from Denmark and Greenland, a Danish government official said as Trump pushes to bring the island territory under U.S. control.

Denmark’s Ambassador Jesper Moller Sorensen and Jacob Isbosethsen, Greenland’s chief representative to Washington, met with officials at the White House National Security Council, the official said on condition of anonymity.

The White House did not immediately confirm the meeting.

The talks were described as an effort to get more clarity on U.S. comments over the past week about Greenland.

The White House said on Tuesday that the U.S. is considering a range of options to acquire Greenland, and that U.S. military force was among the options. The purchase of the territory is also an option, U.S. officals said.

President Donald Trump has said the U.S. needs Greenland for national security.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to meet with Danish officials next week in Washington.

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.

(Reporting by Steve Holland and Costas Pitas; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)