Rubio: Greenland's Future in Western Security Under Discussion with Denmark

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged Wednesday that Greenland is part of Denmark “for now,” while signaling that Washington remains deeply engaged in discussions over the Arctic island’s future role in Western security.

Testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rubio sidestepped a question about whether Washington needed to own territory within NATO to defend it, instead pointing to ongoing talks with Denmark and Greenland over the island’s role in collective defense.

“We are actually involved in conversations with Greenland and Denmark on the use of Greenland for collective defense for all of us,” Rubio said. Calling the island a key element of missile defense, he added: “I think we’re in a good place on it now” and he predicted “pretty good news” could emerge from the talks.

The remarks came shortly after Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen unveiled a new coalition government on Wednesday, ending months of political uncertainty. Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen retained his post and is expected to remain Copenhagen’s key interlocutor with Washington on Greenland.

Trump’s bid to acquire the Arctic island in January this year rattled European allies and prompted Denmark to prepare contingency plans for a worst-case scenario involving U.S. action against its territory.

Relations within NATO members deteriorated further when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in February — and several European capitals declined to offer military help. Madrid denied the use of its air bases, while other EU countries refused to send naval vessels to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Trump then floated the prospect of leaving the alliance in April before ordering the withdrawal of 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany in early May.

Against that backdrop, Rubio cast NATO’s June 24-26 summit in The Hague as a pivotal moment, predicting it could become “the most important” gathering in the alliance’s history.