US lawmakers seek to reassure Denmark amid Trump

A bipartisan congressional delegation met with Danish and Greenlandic officials in Copenhagen on Friday in an effort to show support for Greenland’s territorial integrity despite President Trump’s decision. continuous push to acquire the island.

The delegation is led by Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware, and Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina. Addressing reporters after the meeting, Coons said the delegation “spoke about the value of NATO and the commitment to respect the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and self-determination.”

“And we spoke clearly about the importance of the people of Greenland making their decisions about their future. So it was a constructive and hopeful dialogue,” he said.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said Greenland should be treated as “our ally, not an asset.”

“It’s important to emphasize that when you ask the American people if they think it’s a good idea for the United States to acquire Greenland, the vast majority, about 75%, will say, ‘We don’t think it’s a good idea,'” Murkowski told reporters. “This senator from Alaska doesn’t think it’s a good idea.”

Murkowski said Congress has some tools at its disposal, particularly the power of money, to address the Greenland issue, although he emphasized that the goal of the trip is to hear directly from the people of Greenland and Denmark.

The White House had said Thursday that discussions “Technical talks on the Greenland acquisition” took place in Washington earlier this week, involving Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Danish officials. That claim has been strongly rejected by Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, who told Danish broadcaster TV2 that if the American side engages in further talks with that mentality, then they will be “a series of very, very short meetings.”

US special envoy to Greenland Jeff Landry told News on Friday that he believes a deal can be reached for the US to acquire Greenland and that he plans to visit the island in March.

“The president is serious. I think he has laid down the markers. He has told Denmark what he is looking for, and now it is a matter of Secretary Rubio and Vice President JD Vance reaching an agreement,” Landry said, according to the Reuters news agency.

Greenland, the largest island in the world, located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, is an autonomous Danish territory. Is strategic location and natural resources have attracted increasing attention from President Trump.

The leaders of both Denmark and Greenland have repeatedly rejected the idea of ​​a takeover of the island by the United States. Earlier this week, Rasmussen, Denmark’s top diplomat, said his country and the United States still had “fundamental” differences over the future of Greenland but would continue to talk.

Trump has argued that the United States needs to control the vast, largely frozen island for national security reasons, to counter the geopolitical threat posed by Russia and China. The president has not ruled out taking over the territory through military force.

Speaking at the University of Copenhagen on Friday, Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, a ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee participating in the congressional visit, told attendees that “millions of Americans are deeply concerned by recent rhetoric about the United States seizing Greenland, whether by purchasing it or using military force.”

“Such rhetoric not only undermines our bilateral relationship, it undermines the NATO Alliance at a time when our adversaries seek to benefit from division,” Shaheen said. “(Russian President) Vladimir Putin would welcome any move that fractures NATO or diverts attention and resources from Ukraine,” Shaheen said.

Denmark is a member of the US-led military alliance and several NATO members have expressed concern about the Trump administration’s rhetoric regarding Greenland.

On Thursday Danish soldiers arrived there, as Troops from NATO partners, including France?Germany and the Netherlands in an effort to strengthen the island’s security.

“At the request of Denmark, I have decided that France will participate in the joint exercises organized by Denmark in Greenland, Operation Arctic Resilience,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in a social media post on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters at a press briefing on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the presence of European troops in Greenland does not at all affect Trump’s “goal of acquiring Greenland.”

Earlier this month, the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom and Greenland said that “Greenland belongs to its people” in a joint statement, while emphasizing that the United States’ NATO allies are taking security in the Arctic region seriously.

“NATO has made clear that the Arctic region is a priority and European allies are stepping up. We and many other allies have increased our presence, activities and investments to keep the Arctic safe and deter adversaries,” the statement said.

Possible US military action in Greenland could jeopardize NATO’s eight-decade alliance. Under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, an armed attack against a NATO member is considered an attack against the entire alliance. Any American action in Greenland could undermine that central principle.

Article 5 has been activated only once in history, following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. In the subsequent US-led invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, NATO allies, including Denmark, provided military support to the United States on the ground.