How serious is the US threat to use military force to annex Greenland. Marco Rubio's message behind closed doors

The Trump administration has raised concerns in Europe by warning that it is prepared to go to great lengths to acquire Greenland, The Wall Street Journal and The Economist write.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told US congressmen that the Trump administration's recent threats to take over Greenland do not suggest an imminent invasion and that the goal is to buy the island from Denmark, according to people familiar with the discussions, cited by the Wall Street Journal.

Rubio's remarks, made during a closed-door discussion on Monday, come as the White House has made increasingly aggressive statements about control of the island.

Specifically, President Trump and senior administration officials have publicly refused to rule out the possibility of annexing the territory by force.

“President Trump has made it clear that the acquisition of Greenland is a national security priority for the United States,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

“The president and his team are discussing a number of options to pursue this important foreign policy objective, and of course the use of the U.S. military is always an option available to the commander in chief,” Leavitt said.

“We are reduced to negotiations”

Rubio's comments were made during a briefing by senior administration officials on the operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

His remarks came after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer asked if the Trump administration planned to use military force in other places, including Mexico and Greenland.

It is unclear whether Rubio's intention was to assuage the concerns of the congressmen. US and European officials say they have seen no sign that the White House is preparing a military invasion of Greenland.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., SC), a staunch Trump ally in Congress, also said what the administration is doing on Greenland “comes down to negotiations.”

“We need legal control and legal protection to justify building the place and sending our people there,” he said.

The White House wants to bypass Denmark and deal with Greenland

Direct annexation of Greenland remains unlikely, but Trump's interest must be taken seriously, writes The Economist. The magazine noted that the Trump administration's strategy appears to be two-pronged.

Primarily, it is aimed at cultivating elements within the Greenland independence movement and deepening divisions with Denmark. Second, the administration appears to be trying to strike some sort of deal with the Arctic island, perhaps even bypassing Denmark altogether.

In December, Trump appointed Jeff Landry, the Republican governor of Louisiana, a foreign policy novice, as special envoy to Greenland. This move suggested, at least to some, that America intended to treat Greenland as a separate entity from Denmark.

The CIA and National Security Agency also reportedly stepped up surveillance of the Greenlandic independence movement and were tasked with identifying local American sympathizers.

The Danish government summoned US diplomats three times last year over reports of espionage and a covert influence campaign in Greenland.

At the same time, the Economist writes, some information shows that the Trump administration is working on an agreement to present to Greenland.

Trump has repeatedly compared the situation to a large-scale real estate deal that would bring great wealth to Greenlanders.

US officials have discussed offering a so-called Compact of Free Association (COFA) to the island, an agreement it has traditionally extended to small Pacific nations.

COFA allows the US military to operate freely in signatory countries, with the added benefit of tariff-free trade.

Denmark's firm reaction

Trump insists the US must control Greenland to better protect the Arctic against Russia and China. He has also been outspoken about the fact that the US government and American companies should have greater access to the island's critical minerals.

The Danish government responded by repeatedly suggesting that the US could station more troops in Greenland and obtain new and improved mining rights.

To address Trump's concerns about Arctic security, Denmark has invested in the island's security infrastructure and said it plans to spend billions of dollars on new weapons such as ships and planes.

But Trump ridiculed the measures on Sunday, saying Copenhagen was in effect buying “another dog sled”.

Fears of aggressive action by America spread across Europe, with six of the continent's leaders joining Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in an unusual joint statement on Tuesday calling for the United States to work “collectively” with allies to address Arctic security concerns.

But Frederiksen was much more direct and blunt on Monday, telling local broadcaster DR that “everything would end” if the US attacked a NATO country to seize Greenland.

“The international community as we know it, the democratic rules of the game, NATO, the strongest defensive alliance in the world – all of that would collapse if one NATO country chose to attack another country,” she said.