Denmark, Greenland Request Meeting With Rubio After Trump Revives Push For New Territory

Officials in Denmark and Greenland have requested to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio as President Donald Trump has renewed his efforts to acquire Greenland.

Greenland Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt and Denmark Foreign Minister Lars Rasmussen said separately that they had requested a meeting with Rubio. The officials said that similar meetings had been requested last year, but never granted.

“The strong request for a meeting is related to the U.S.’s claims about our country,” Motzfeldt said, according to ABC News. “Unfortunately, our country’s request for a meeting for a long time has not been successful, although this has been repeatedly requested by our country.”

Rasmussen said that the meeting would clear up “certain misunderstandings” related to Washington’s desire to acquire Greenland, according to France 24.

Trump has renewed his case for U.S. control of Greenland after the United States military last week successfully arrested and extradited Venezuela strongman Nicolás Maduro from his compound in Caracas. U.S. forces took Maduro to New York where he is set to stand trial on drug trafficking charges.

The White House issued a statement on Tuesday that said the administration is leaving open the option of “utilizing the U.S. military” as part of its acquisition strategy.

“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 White House said. “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.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Monday that threats to involve the military are part of a bargaining strategy. Rubio said that Trump wants to purchase Greenland from Denmark, not invade it, according to The New York Times.

Denmark has repeatedly pushed back against U.S. claims to the territory. On Tuesday, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Poland joined Denmark in issuing a joint statement against U.S. acquisition of Greenland.

Trump has insisted that Greenland is necessary for U.S. national security, especially to secure Arctic shipping lanes. Danish control of Greenland also cuts against the Monroe Doctrine against European interference in the Western hemisphere.