In a blunt message, US secretary of state Marco Rubio on Friday said Denmark must reckon with the reality that “Greenlanders don’t want to be a part of it.”
“Denmark should focus on the fact that the Greenlanders don’t want to be a part of Denmark,” Rubio said following a Nato foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels. The remark adds a new edge to the ongoing diplomatic tension over Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory rich in natural resources and strategically located in the Arctic.
Rubio’s comments come amid growing US interest in Greenland and rising concerns over potential Chinese influence in the region. He made it clear that while Washington respects Greenland’s right to decide its own future, it will not allow the island to fall into China’s economic orbit.
“What we’re not going to do is let China come in now and offer them a bunch of money, and become dependent on China,” Rubio said, reiterating America’s strategic concerns in the Arctic.
Greenland, home to around 57,000 people, has long expressed a desire for independence. Polls show a significant majority support breaking away from Denmark, though there’s little indication they would favor joining the United States instead.
The tension was heightened last week when US Vice President JD Vance visited Greenland. Rubio defended the trip, saying it underscored the US position of respecting the island’s self-determination. However, the visit was viewed as provocative by both Nuuk and Copenhagen.
Despite the diplomatic friction, Rubio said he had reassured his Danish counterpart of the “strong” relationship between the two nations during a meeting on the sidelines of the Nato summit.