President Trump on Thursday expressed confidence the United States would annex Greenland, even suggesting the head of the NATO alliance could be a key player in facilitating the acquisition.
“I think it will happen,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office during a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
“And I’m just thinking, I didn’t give it much thought before but I’m sitting with a man that could be very instrumental. You know, Mark, we need that for international security,” Trump said, gesturing to Rutte.
Rutte agreed that Greenland and the Arctic Circle are critical for security reasons, noting that China and Russia have a growing presence in the region. But he said any discussion about Trump’s attempts to acquire Greenland were outside of his purview.
“I don’t want to drag NATO in that,” Rutte said.
The comments came two days after the center-right Demokraatit party won Greenland’s parliamentary elections.
The party favors a slow path toward independence from Denmark.
Trump has for months pushed the idea of the United States acquiring Greenland, which is a territory of fellow NATO member Denmark.
The United States has a military base on the island.
Prior to taking office, he declined to rule out potential military action to annex the Arctic island. His son, Donald Trump Jr., and a handful of allies visited the island in January.
