Denmark and Greenland Seek Urgent Talks With Sen. Marco Rubio After U.S. Signals Interest in Seizing Strategic Arctic Island

Denmark and Greenland have formally requested urgent talks with U.S. officials, including Senator Marco Rubio, after the Trump administration again signaled interest in taking control of Greenland — the world’s largest island and a self-governing territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Tensions rose when the White House said the "U.S. military is always an option," a remark that Danish leaders say raises the stakes and risks damaging alliances. President Donald Trump has argued that greater U.S. control of Greenland would protect American security as China and Russia expand their Arctic presence.

FILE - United States Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller reacts on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein), File)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

“It’s so strategic right now,” Trump told reporters, reflecting his administration’s emphasis on the island’s geopolitical importance.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned that any U.S. move to seize Greenland would amount to a dramatic rupture with NATO and could undermine the alliance. "Such an action would threaten the very fabric of collective defense that NATO is built on," she said.

FILE - A plane carrying Donald Trump Jr. lands in Nuuk, Greenland, Jan. 7, 2025. (Emil Stach/Ritzau Scanpix via AP, file)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

European capitals reacted quickly. Leaders from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom joined Denmark in a joint statement reaffirming that the mineral-rich island "belongs to its people" and defending Greenland’s sovereignty. Greenland is self-governing under the Kingdom of Denmark and, through Denmark, is connected to NATO.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland’s foreign minister, Vivian Motzfeldt, said they have asked for a near-term meeting with Senator Rubio and other senior U.S. figures; a statement posted on Greenland’s government website noted that earlier requests had not yielded a meeting.

FILE - Danish military forces participate in an exercise with hundreds of troops from several European NATO members in the Arctic Ocean in Nuuk, Greenland, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said he spoke by phone with Rubio, and that Rubio dismissed the prospect of a Venezuela-style operation in Greenland. Barrot told France Inter radio that there is broad support in the United States for preserving NATO membership and that any aggressive move against a NATO partner would jeopardize that commitment.

Backlash also came from within the U.S. political system: Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), co-chairs of the bipartisan Senate NATO Observer Group, criticized the rhetoric in a joint statement. They urged that the United States honor its treaty obligations and respect the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark, saying coercive pressure on an ally "undermines the very principles of self-determination that our Alliance exists to defend."

What’s next: Denmark and Greenland are pushing for clarification and diplomatic reassurances. Officials say they want to meet U.S. counterparts quickly to discuss the situation and to reaffirm Greenlandic sovereignty and the role of NATO in Arctic security.

Associated Press contributors Geir Moulson in Berlin and Mark Carlson in Brussels contributed reporting to this story.