U.S. President Donald Trump is pursuing talks to annex Greenland and could use the U.S. military to do so, the White House said.
According to Reuters on the 6th, the White House, responding to related questions that day, said, "President Trump has made clear that acquiring Greenland is a U.S. national security priority and essential to deterring our adversaries in the Arctic."
It added, "To pursue these important foreign policy objectives, President Trump's team is discussing a range of options," and "using the U.S. military is always among the commander in chief's choices."
Earlier, after the invasion of Venezuela, President Trump openly expressed ambitions toward Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark. In an interview with The Atlantic on the 4th, he said, "Greenland is absolutely necessary for security," a representative example.
Close aides to President Trump have also continued public remarks about annexing Greenland. Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy, said in a CNN interview, "There will be no country that wants to fight the United States militarily over Greenland's future." His wife, conservative commentator KT Miller, stirred controversy by posting on social media a map of Greenland with the Stars and Stripes and the word "SOON."
But European countries, including Denmark, are voicing strong opposition. The seven nations of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and Denmark released a joint statement the same day saying, "The only parties that decide the Greenland issue are Denmark and Greenland."