U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has confirmed upcoming diplomatic negotiations with Denmark following controversial statements from the White House regarding potential acquisition of Greenland. The announcement comes amidst heightened international tensions after President Donald Trump’s administration openly discussed military options for obtaining the strategically significant Danish territory.
Rubio addressed journalists Wednesday following a classified Senate briefing, emphasizing that while military action remains a constitutional presidential option for national security threats, diplomatic resolution remains the preferred approach. “As a diplomat, which is what I am now, we always prefer to settle it in different ways,” Rubio stated, referencing the recent military intervention in Venezuela that saw American forces seize President Nicolás Maduro.
The Trump administration maintains that Greenland’s geographic position makes it vital to U.S. security interests. However, Denmark has responded unequivocally that any aggressive action would effectively terminate NATO’s military alliance framework.
European powers have rallied behind Denmark, with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announcing that Rubio had explicitly “ruled out the possibility of an invasion” during their telephone consultation. Barrot is scheduled to convene with German and Polish counterparts to discuss the Arctic territory’s strategic implications.
In a powerful show of solidarity, seven European nations—France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Denmark—issued a joint declaration affirming that “Greenland belongs to its people, and only Denmark and Greenland can decide on matters concerning their relations.” The statement emphasized collective security through NATO mechanisms while invoking UN Charter principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The situation escalated when Katie Miller, spouse of senior presidential advisor Stephen Miller, shared a social media post depicting Greenland adorned with American flag colors captioned “SOON.” Her husband subsequently declared Greenland’s incorporation into the United States as “the formal position of the US government.”
Local Greenlandic residents expressed alarm, with 27-year-old Inuit Morgan Angaju from Ilulissat describing the experience as “terrifying to listen to the leader of the free world laughing at Denmark and Greenland and just talking about us like we’re something to claim.”