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Trump medication officials are acceptable to conscionable with Danish officials astir Greenland connected Wednesday, diplomatic sources archer CBS News.
The meeting, which has not been officially announced, comes aft Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Congress past week that President Trump is funny successful purchasing the Danish territory. The White House besides said Tuesday officials are discussing a wide scope of options for acquiring Greenland, including utilizing the U.S. subject to instrumentality it by force.
While Rubio had downplayed the menace of subject unit successful his remarks to reporters, Mr. Trump doubled down connected the anticipation Friday, saying, "I would similar to marque a woody the casual way, but if we don't bash it the casual way, we're going to bash it the hard way."
Sen. Tim Kaine, who met with Danish officials past week, said connected Sunday that helium thinks Democrats and Republicans successful Congress would unite to halt immoderate subject enactment aimed astatine taking Greenland. "We're not going to bash it the hard way, and we're not going to bash it the casual way," helium said on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan."
"Either we're going to proceed to enactment with Denmark arsenic a sovereign federation that we're allied with, and we're not going to dainty them arsenic an adversary oregon arsenic an enemy," the Democrat said.
Mr. Trump told the New York Times in an interrogation published past week that ownership of Greenland, the world's largest island, was important due to the fact that "that's what I consciousness is psychologically needed for success." Mr. Trump has repeatedly said helium feels the U.S. needs to get Greenland for defence purposes.
The escalatory connection by the president successful caller weeks has further stressed already strained relations with European allies. Multiple European diplomats told CBS News that they progressively recognize that America's committedness to the defence of Europe and NATO is nary longer arsenic ironclad arsenic it has been implicit the past decades — oregon adjacent the past fewer years of the warfare successful Ukraine, during which the U.S. rallied European countries to unify against Russian aggression. One diplomat told CBS News that the Greenland concern is simply a imaginable breaking point.
Louisiana GOP Gov. Jeff Landry, who Mr. Trump appointed as special envoy to Greenland last month, wrote Sunday connected X that "History matters. The U.S. defended Greenland's sovereignty during WWII erstwhile Denmark couldn't."
"After the war, Denmark re-occupied it—side stepping and ignoring UN protocol. This should beryllium astir hospitality, not hostility," Landry said.
In response, Denmark's Ambassador to the U.S. Jesper Møller Sørensen said "facts substance too," and pointed retired Greenland "has been a portion of the Kingdom of Denmark for centuries." He besides emphasized that past week, each 5 of Greenland's parties successful Parliament repeated they don't privation to go portion of the U.S.
"We don't privation to beryllium Americans, we don't privation to beryllium Danes, we privation to beryllium Greenlanders," Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and 4 enactment leaders said successful a connection Friday night.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said earlier this period that an American subject determination to prehend power of Greenland would magnitude to the extremity of the NATO subject alliance. Denmark is simply a NATO member, and NATO's Article 5 states that if a NATO state suffers an equipped attack, each members volition see it an onslaught connected them arsenic good and bash what they request to assistance the attacked nation.
"This would beryllium disastrous," Kaine said connected "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan." It wouldn't conscionable beryllium the extremity of NATO, it would beryllium America alone."
Zak Hudak contributed to this report.
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