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US secretary of state Marco Rubio says Trump's offer to ‘buy’ Greenland is ‘not a joke’
Marco Rubio said that the Arctic region will become a critical shipping lane that the US “needs to defend”.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that President Donald Trump's offer to “buy” Greenland is “not a joke”, adding that acquiring the semi-autonomous Danish territory was in the US “national interest”.
During The Megyn Kelly Show, Rubio reiterated that Trump wants to buy Greenland and pointed out that the president has not ruled out military coercion to acquire Greenland.
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“This is not a joke. This is not about acquiring land for the purpose of acquiring land. This is in our national interest and it needs to be solved,” Rubio said.
He explained his inability to give a definite timeline. “Obviously, that's the president's priority, and he has made that point. We're not in a position yet to discuss exactly how we'll proceed tactically. What I think you can rest assured of is that four years from now, our interest in the Arctic will be more secure,” Rubio added.
The secretary of state also noted that the Arctic region will become a critical shipping lane that the US “needs to defend” and warned that China may seek to develop its presence there.
The US military has a permanent base in northwestern Greenland that serves as a ballistic missile early-warning system.
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Greenland's response
Greenland's Prime Minister Mute Egede, who has stepped up a push for independence from Denmark, has repeatedly said the island is not for sale and that it is up to its people to decide their future.
According to a recent poll published in the Danish Berlingske and Greenland's Sermitsiaq dailies, 85 per cent of Greenlanders said they do not want to join the US.
On Thursday, European Council President Antonio Costa said Denmark's sovereignty is an “essential issue” for the EU.
The US-led NATO military alliance and Denmark agreed at a meeting on Tuesday to focus on strengthening Arctic defences. Copenhagen said it would boost Arctic defence spending by $2 billion.
(With inputs from Reuters)
