Greenland official calls it ‘unfathomable’ that the U.S. is considering taking over the island

U.S. Vice President JD Vance speaks during a briefing at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

NUUK, Greenland — A senior Greenland government official said Tuesday it’s “unfathomable” that the United States is discussing taking over a NATO ally and urged the Trump administration to listen to voices from the Arctic island nation.

Naaja Nathanielsen, Greenland’s minister for business and mineral resources, said people in Greenland are “very, very worried” about the U.S. rhetoric.

She spoke a day before a key meeting in Washington between foreign ministers of the semi-autonomous Danish territory and Denmark and top U.S. officials, at a time of increased tensions between the allies over the administration’s desire for control of Greenland.

“People are not sleeping, children are afraid, and it just fills everything these days. And we can’t really understand it,” Nathanielsen said at a meeting with lawmakers in Britain’s Parliament.

Earlier, a Danish government official confirmed that Denmark provided U.S. forces in the east Atlantic with support last week as they intercepted an oil tanker for violations of U.S. sanctions.

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly on the sensitive matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity, declined to provide details about what the support entailed.

The U.S. interception in the Atlantic capped a weekslong pursuit of the tanker that began in the Caribbean Sea as the U.S. imposed a blockade in the waters of Venezuela aimed at capturing sanctioned vessels coming in and out of the South American country.

The White House and Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Danish support for the U.S. operation was first reported by Newsmax.

Nathanielsen said Greenlanders understand that the U.S. sees Greenland as part of its national security sphere.

“We get it. We want to work with it,” she said, adding that “we understand the need for increased monitoring in the Arctic as a consequence of the growing geopolitical insecurity.”

Nathanielsen said Greenland understands the need to “shake things up, to make things different … But we do believe that it can be done without the use of force.”

She said “it is just unfathomable to understand” that Greenland could be facing the prospect of being sold or annexed.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland on Wednesday at the White House to discuss Trump’s interest in acquiring Greenland, according to a U.S. official and two sources familiar with the plans who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting has not yet been formally announced.

Denmark’s foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, said earlier that Vance would host a meeting with him and his Greenlandic counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt, in Washington this week, with Rubio in attendance.

At a joint news conference with Danish Prime Minster Mette Frederiksen in Copenhagen, Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen reiterated that Greenland isn’t for sale, Danish media reported. He said Greenland doesn’t want to be owned or ruled by the U.S.

Frederiksen also underlined Denmark’s willingness to invest in Arctic security. She said it hasn’t been easy to stand up to unacceptable pressure from a close ally and there are many indications that the most difficult part lies ahead.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte refused to be drawn into the dispute, insisting that it was not his role to get involved.

“I never, ever comment when there are discussions within the alliance,” Rutte said, at the European Parliament in Brussels. “My role has to be to make sure we solve issues.”

He said that the 32-nation military organization must focus on providing security in the Arctic region, which includes Greenland. “When it comes to the protection of the High North, that is my role.”

Tensions have grown this month as Trump and his administration push the issue and the White House considers a range of options, including military force, to acquire Greenland. Trump reiterated his argument that the U.S. needs to “take Greenland,” otherwise Russia or China would, in comments aboard Air Force One on Sunday.

He said he’d rather “make a deal” for the territory, “but one way or the other, we’re going to have Greenland.”

A bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation is headed to Copenhagen for meetings on Friday and Saturday in an attempt to show unity between the United States and Denmark.

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Geir Moulson in Berlin, Darlene Superville and Matthew Lee in Washington and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.

Emma Burrows, Jill Lawless and Aamer Madhani, The Associated Press