Americas

Home page

Americas

Rubio to meet Denmark leaders next week, signals no retreat on Trump's Greenland goal

08 January 2026 01:28 (UTC +04:00)

The top U.S. diplomat said on Wednesday he would meet leaders of Denmark next week but signalled no retreat from President Donald Trump's aim to take over Greenland, and alarmed allies including France and Germany were working on a plan on how to respond, APA reports citing Reuters.

A U.S. military seizure of the mineral-rich Arctic island from a longtime ally, Denmark, would send shock waves through the NATO alliance and deepen the divide between Trump and European leaders.

In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would meet Danish leaders next week and that Trump retained the option to address his objective by military means.

Still, "as a diplomat, which is what I am now, and what we work on, we always prefer to settle it in different ways - that included in Venezuela," Rubio told reporters when asked if the U.S. was willing to potentially endanger NATO with a forcible takeover of Greenland.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said a potential U.S. purchase of Greenland was being actively discussed by Trump and his national security team.

"All options are always on the table for President Trump ... the president's first option always has been diplomacy," Leavitt told a regular news briefing.