Trump actively discussing potentially buying Greenland, White House says

US President Donald Trump and his officials are “actively” discussing a possible offer to purchase the Danish territory of Greenland, the White House has confirmed.

It’s “something that’s currently being actively discussed by the president and his national security team,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters Wednesday.

Greenland and Denmark have repeatedly stressed that the island is not for sale.

When asked why the Trump administration had previously said it was not ruling out the use of military force to acquire Greenland, Leavitt responded that all options were still on the table, but that “Trump’s first option has always been diplomacy.”

Concerns over the future of the territory resurfaced after Trump’s unilateral use of military force against Venezuela on Saturday to seize President Nicolas Maduro. NATO ally Denmark says an attack on its territory would end the military alliance.

The Trump administration says Greenland is vital to U.S. security.

Although it is the least populated territory, its location between North America and the Arctic makes it well placed for early warning systems for missile attacks and for monitoring ships in the region.

Pituffik Space Base, formerly known as Thule Air Base, has been operated by the United States since World War II.

Recent years have also seen increased interest in Greenland’s natural resources, including rare earth minerals, uranium and iron, which are becoming easier to access as the ice melts due to climate change. Scientists believe it could also contain significant oil and gas reserves.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday he would hold negotiations with Denmark next week.

Trump previously made an offer to buy the island in 2019, during his first presidential term, only to be told it was not for sale.

“The acquisition of Greenland by the United States is not a new idea,” Leavitt said.

“The president has been very open and clear with all of you and the world, saying that he believes it is in the best interests of the United States to deter Russian and Chinese aggression in the Arctic region, and that is why his team is currently discussing what a potential purchase would look like.”

The White House said earlier this week that Trump had discussed a series of options for acquiring Greenland, including the use of military force.

“All options are still on the table for President Trump as he considers what is in the best interests of the United States,” Leavitt said.

Earlier in the day, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Rubio had “ruled out the possibility of an invasion” of Greenland in a phone call with him.

Barrot is due to discuss the Arctic island with his German and Polish counterparts later on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, European leaders issued a joint statement rallying behind Denmark.

“Greenland belongs to its people, and only Denmark and Greenland can decide on matters concerning their relations,” the leaders of France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and Denmark said in a joint statement.

Stressing that they were as committed as the United States to Arctic security, the European signatories said this must be achieved by NATO allies, including the United States, “collectively.”

They also called for “respecting the principles of the United Nations Charter, including sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders.”

A day after the US military action in Venezuela, Katie Miller, the wife of one of Trump’s top aides, posted on social media a map of Greenland in the colors of the US flag, next to the word “SOON”.

On Monday, her husband, Stephen Miller, said the “official position of the U.S. government is that Greenland should be part of the United States.”

Aaja Chemnitz, one of two members of the Danish Parliament representing Greenland, told the BBC that the Trump administration’s comments posed “a clear threat.”

“It’s completely disrespectful of the United States to not rule out annexation of our country and annex another NATO ally,” she said.

But Chemnitz said she considered that unlikely. Instead, “what we’re going to see is that they will put pressure on us to make sure that they take control of Greenland over time.”

Aleqatsiaq Peary, a 42-year-old Inuit hunter living in Qaanaaq, a remote town in northern Greenland, seemed unfazed by the potential for American ownership.

“It would be about passing from one master to another, from one occupant to another,” he told the BBC. “We are a colony under Denmark. We are already losing a lot being under the Danish government.”

Saying he had “no time for Trump,” he added that people were “in need.” Hunters like him, he explains, hunted with dogs on the ice floes and fished, “but the ice floes are melting and the hunters can no longer make a living.”

Additional reporting by Adrienne Murray in Copenhagen