United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has reignited tensions over Washington’s pursuit of Greenland after telling lawmakers the Arctic island is part of Denmark “for now”.
Rubio made the remark on June 3 while testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Congresswoman Sarah McBride, a Democrat from Delaware, asked whether he was aware that Greenland is part of Denmark, to which he replied: “For now.”
The US Secretary of State told the committee the administration was involved in talks with both Greenland and Denmark over using the island for “collective defence”, describing it as key to missile defence.
“We’re involved in those talks right now. I think we’re in a good place on it,” Rubio said, though he declined to discuss the details publicly.
Greenland has been a recurring theme since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House. The President has repeatedly argued that Washington needs the Danish territory to bolster its defences.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January, Trump described the island as “actually part of North America” and said it was American territory.
He has also threatened several European nations with tariffs of up to 25 per cent until Denmark agrees to hand over the island, according to Euronews.
The US is reported to have operated 17 military facilities and more than 10,000 troops on Greenland at the height of the Cold War. It now runs a single base, the Pituffik Space Base, the northernmost installation of the US Department of Defense.
The US Space Force says the base is used for missile warning, missile defence and space surveillance.
The comments followed remarks in May by Trump’s special envoy to Greenland, Jeff Landry, who said it was time for the US to “put its footprint back” on the island. Landry, a Republican governor, had earlier drawn anger among Greenlanders by saying his aim was to make the territory part of the US.
Greenland is a self-governing territory of Denmark, an EU member state, and successive Greenlandic leaders have stressed that any defence arrangement cannot override the principle of self-determination.
The latest remarks have come amid protests in Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, against the recent opening of a US consulate in the city.
