Ireland’s prime minister, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, said Monday that Greenland “is part of Denmark” and that the European Union stands “rock-solid” behind Copenhagen after U.S. President Donald Trump renewed talk of acquiring the Arctic territory and the White House said all options — including military action — remain on the table.
Speaking during an official visit to Shanghai, Martin urged “common sense,” adding that territorial integrity is a matter for the Kingdom of Denmark and the people of Greenland. He called a U.S. purchase “not realistic or possible,” while noting the United States has long maintained a military presence there.
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The remarks followed a new burst of U.S. rhetoric on Greenland. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he will meet Danish officials next week after Trump repeated his desire to gain control of the island — an idea he first floated in 2019. The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said Trump has “actively discussed” purchasing Greenland to deter Russian and Chinese activity in the Arctic, adding that “all options are always on the table” but that the president’s “first option, always, has been diplomacy.”
Danish officials and European partners warned that threats to seize Greenland by force would shatter the NATO alliance. Copenhagen has cautioned that any move against Greenland — a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark — would halt decades of close transatlantic security ties. Under NATO’s Article 5, an attack on one member is considered an attack on all.
France said it is coordinating a response with partners. Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told France Inter radio that the issue will be raised with his German and Polish counterparts and that, in a call with Rubio, the prospect of a Venezuela-style military operation in Greenland was “discarded.” A U.S. military operation over the weekend in which Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro was seized had intensified European concerns that Greenland could face similar pressure.
In Dublin, Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee said Greenland is “not for sale, not for taking,” stressing that sovereignty and the island’s future belong only to its people. She called recent statements from Washington “extremely concerning” and said respect for international law and territorial integrity “is not up for negotiation.”
In Copenhagen, Danish lawmaker Trine Mach, who sits on the parliament’s Greenland Committee, said people in both Denmark and Greenland are alarmed by the U.S. rhetoric and are taking Trump’s statements “very seriously.”
Greenland’s leaders reiterated that the island is not on the market. Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said only its roughly 57,000 residents can decide its future. Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt said he sought a meeting with Rubio throughout last year, while Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said talks with Washington should “clear up certain misunderstandings.”
The Wall Street Journal reported that Rubio told lawmakers Trump’s preferred approach is to buy Greenland from Denmark, adding that the threats do not signal an imminent invasion.
Strategically positioned between North America and Europe, Greenland has been a cornerstone of U.S. ballistic missile defense for decades. Its rare earths and other mineral resources also align with Washington’s effort to reduce reliance on Chinese supply chains. Greenland is not an independent NATO member, but its defense is covered through Denmark’s membership in the alliance.
Martin underscored that any issues related to the longstanding U.S. base in Greenland can be addressed through dialogue with Denmark. But he and other European officials said the foundational principles remain clear: sovereignty rests with Copenhagen and Nuuk, and any change in status is for Greenland’s people to decide.
Additional reporting AFP, Reuters
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
