On Saturday, a bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation sought to reassure Denmark and Greenland of their support, following President Donald Trump’s threat to if they do not back the U.S. taking over the strategic Arctic island.
Delegation leader Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, stated that the is sparking concern across the Danish kingdom. He noted his aim to de-escalate the situation.
“I hope the people of the Kingdom of Denmark do not lose faith in the American people,” Coons said in Copenhagen, adding that the U.S. holds respect for Denmark and NATO “for all we’ve achieved together.”
Meanwhile, Danish Major Gen. Søren Andersen, head of the Joint Arctic Command, told The Associated Press that Denmark does not anticipate a U.S. military attack on Greenland or any other NATO ally, and that European troops were recently deployed to Nuuk for Arctic defense training.
He clarified that the goal is not to send a message to the Trump administration, even as the White House has not ruled out taking the territory by force.
“I will not delve into the political aspects, but I will say that I would never expect a NATO country to attack another NATO country,” he told the AP on Saturday aboard a Danish military vessel docked in Nuuk. “For us, for me, it’s not about signaling. It is genuinely about training military units and collaborating with allies.”
The Danish military organized a planning meeting in Greenland on Friday with NATO allies, including the U.S., to discuss Arctic security on the alliance’s northern flank amid a potential Russian threat. Andersen mentioned that Americans were also invited to participate in Operation Arctic Endurance in Greenland in the coming days.
During his 2 1/2 years as a commander in Greenland, Andersen said he has not observed any Chinese or Russian combat vessels or warships, despite Trump’s claims that they were off the island’s coast.
However, in the unlikely event of American troops using force on Danish soil, Andersen confirmed a Cold War-era law governing Denmark’s rules of engagement.
“But you are correct that under Danish law, a Danish soldier, if attacked, is obligated to fight back,” he said.
‘Important for the whole world’
Thousands of people marched through Copenhagen on Saturday afternoon, many carrying Greenland’s flag . Others held signs with slogans such as “Make America Smart Again” and “Hands Off.”
“This is significant for the entire world,” Danish protester Elise Riechie told The Associated Press while holding Danish and Greenlandic flags. “There are many small countries. None of them are for sale.”
Additional rallies were planned in Nuuk, the Greenlandic capital, and other parts of the Danish kingdom.
Coons’ remarks contrasted with those from the White House. Trump has sought to justify his calls for a U.S. takeover by repeatedly claiming that China and Russia have their own designs on Greenland, which holds vast untapped reserves of critical minerals. The White House has not ruled out .
“There are no current security threats to Greenland,” Coons said.
For months, Trump has insisted that the U.S. should control Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of Denmark, and stated earlier this week that anything short of the Arctic island being in U.S. hands would be “unacceptable.”
During an unrelated White House event on rural health care, he recounted on Friday how he had threatened European allies with tariffs on pharmaceuticals.
“I may do that for , too,” Trump said. “I might impose tariffs on countries if they don’t align with the Greenland issue, because we need Greenland for national security. So I might do that,” he said.
He had not previously mentioned using tariffs to push the matter.
Earlier this week, the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland met in Washington with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
That meeting did not resolve , but it did result in an agreement to establish a working group — on the purpose of which Denmark and the White House then offered .
European leaders have maintained that decisions regarding the territory should be made solely by Denmark and Greenland, and Denmark announced this week that it is increasing its military presence in Greenland in cooperation with allies.
“There is scarcely a better ally to the United States than Denmark,” Coons said. “If we take actions that cause Danes to question whether we can be counted on as a NATO ally, why would any other country seek to be our ally or trust our commitments?”