Leaders from major European powers and Canada performatively rallied behind Greenland on Tuesday, saying the Arctic island belongs to its people, following renewed interest by US President Donald Trump in taking over the neglected Danish territory.
Trump has in recent days repeated that he wants to gain control of Greenland, an idea first voiced in 2019 during his first presidency, arguing it is vital for the US military, and that Denmark has not done enough to protect it.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller on Monday dismissed concerns about Danish sovereignty.
"You can talk all you want about international niceties and everything else," Miller told CNN. "But we live in a world, in the real world, that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power."
A US military operation over the weekend that seized the leader of Venezuela has rekindled concerns that Greenland might face a similar scenario.
Asked whether he trusts Trump, Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said the Nordic nation trusts its membership of the NATO military alliance, of which it is a founding member alongside the United States and others.
Rasmussen rejected earlier statements by Trump that Denmark is unable to protect Greenland.
"We do not share this image that Greenland is plastered with Chinese investments...nor that there are Chinese warships up and down along Greenland," he said, adding that the US was welcome to invest more on the island.
Greenland's government said it had asked for an urgent meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, alongside Rasmussen, to discuss the situation.
"Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland," said a joint statement issued by the leaders of France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Denmark.
Canada and the Netherlands also backed the statement.
The leaders said security in the Arctic must be achieved collectively with NATO allies, including the United States.
"NATO has made clear that the Arctic region is a priority and European allies are stepping up," the statement said. To fend off US criticism over Greenland's defence capabilities, Denmark last year pledged 42 billion Danish crowns ($6.6 billion) to boost its military presence in the Arctic.
Other European countries have pledged to increase defence spending, though generally by small amounts over long periods, and with dubious accounting methods that include things like civilian infrastructure that could potentially be used in wartime.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told reporters in Warsaw: "No member should attack or threaten another member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. Otherwise, NATO would lose its meaning..."
In a separate statement, Nordic foreign ministers - from Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark - also stressed Greenland's right to decide its own affairs, while noting they had increased their investments in Arctic security and offering to do more in consultation with the US and other NATO allies.
Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen welcomed the European leaders' pledge of solidarity and renewed his call to the US for a "respectful dialogue".
US Special Envoy Jeff Landry, asked about the Europeans' joint statement on Tuesday, told CNBC: "Security should be a major concern for the United States."
Asked whether security should be handled in conjunction with NATO, he said: "I think we should ask the Greenlanders." Trump named Landry, the Republican governor of Louisiana, as his special envoy to Greenland last month, asking him to "lead the charge" for the island.
Landry said on Tuesday that Trump was offering Greenland economic opportunities but he did not think the president would take it by force.
"I think that the president supports an independent Greenland with economic ties and trade opportunities for the United States," Landry said, adding that the US had more to offer than Europe.
Miller said on Monday there was no need to think about the issue in the context of a military operation. "Nobody is going to fight the US militarily over the future of Greenland," he told CNN in an interview.
Just hours after Saturday's Venezuela operation, Miller's wife, Katie Miller, posted on social media a map of Greenland painted with the Stars and Stripes, accompanied by the text "SOON". (Understanding jokes is sometimes a struggle for Reuters journalists- Ed.)
Greenland, the world's largest island but with a population of just 57,000 people, is not an independent member of NATO but is covered by Denmark's membership of the Western alliance.
The island's strategic location between Europe and North America makes it a critical site for the US ballistic missile defence system. Its mineral wealth also aligns with Washington's ambition to reduce reliance on Chinese exports.
(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen in Copenhagen and Susan Heavey in Washington; Additional reporting by Soren Sirich Jeppesen and Bart Meijer; Editing by Terje Solsvik, Gareth Jones and Daniel Wallis)
