Rubio says he'll meet Danish officials next week, amid tensions over Greenland
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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio looks on on the day of a briefing for the House of Representatives on the situation in Venezuela, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 7, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
WASHINGTON, Jan 7 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday he will meet with Danish officials next week, but showed no signs Washington wants to back away from U.S. President Donald Trump's stated desire to gain control of Greenland.
A U.S. military raid on Caracas on Saturday that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has rekindled worries in Denmark and among its European allies that Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, might face a similar scenario.
The White House said on Tuesday that Trump was discussing options for acquiring the strategic Arctic island, including potential use of the U.S. military, despite European objections.
Asked on Wednesday about Denmark's offer to discuss the situation in Greenland, Rubio said: "I'll be meeting with them next week. We'll have those conversations with them then."
Asked if Trump planned for the U.S. to buy Greenland, Rubio said that this had always been the president's intent.
"If the president identifies a threat to the national security of the United States, every president retains the option to address it through military means. As a diplomat, which is what I am now, and what we work on, we always prefer to settle it in different ways - that included in Venezuela," Rubio told reporters.
Trump, who first voiced the idea of gaining control of Greenland in 2019 during his first presidency, argues the island is key for U.S. military strategy and claims Denmark has not done enough to protect it.
The U.S. and Denmark are both NATO members and a U.S. military seizure of Greenland would send shock waves through the alliance.
(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis, Patricia Zengerle and Simon LewisEditing by Frances Kerry)
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