A bipartisan US Congressional delegation sought to reassure Denmark and Greenland It follows President Trump’s threat to punish countries with tariffs if the US does not agree to take over the strategic Arctic island.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said Greenland should be seen as a U.S. ally, “not an asset,” and Sen. Chris Coons said they want to deescalate the situation.
“I hope that the people of the Kingdom of Denmark will put aside their faith in the American people,” Coons, a Delaware Democrat, said in Copenhagen, adding that the US respects Denmark and NATO “for everything we’ve done together.”
Ida Marie Odgaard / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP via Getty Images 
Their comments contrasted with those coming from the White House. Mr. Trump has declared that the United States has annexed Greenland for a month valuable strategic location of the island. The US has sought to justify its annexation requests by repeatedly saying that China and Russia have their own designs on Greenland, which has vast untapped reserves of critical minerals.
The Trump administration has not ruled out taking the island by military force, and on Friday, Mr. Trump threatened to raise tariffs on countries that “do not agree” to annex Greenland.
“I can put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland because we need Greenland for national security. So I can do that,” he said.
The gambit has drawn massive backlash from officials in Greenland, Denmark and across Europe.
Jens-Frederik Nielsen Prime Minister of Greenland he said this week “we choose Denmark” and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen he said A US takeover would spell the end of NATO.
“It weakens NATO at a time when our adversaries want to take advantage of the division,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, in Denmark.
European leaders have insisted that only Denmark and Greenland should decide on territorial issues, and Denmark said this week that it is increasing its military presence in Greenland in cooperation with its allies.
“There is almost no better ally for the United States than Denmark,” Coons said. “If we do things that call into question whether or not we can count as a NATO ally, why would any other country seek to be our ally or believe in our representations?”
This week, The foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland met in Washington this week With US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
That meeting did not resolve deep differences, but it did reach an agreement to create a working group, for the purpose of which Denmark and the White House offered very different public views at the time.
And as this Arctic battle over Greenland’s future heats up, many of its nearly 60,000 residents are scared.
“Americans used to be good guys, they helped us, but now they’re suddenly our enemy and that’s amazing,” said Liv Aurora Jensen.
Emil Helms/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images 
Thousands of people marched through Copenhagen, many of them carrying Greenlandic flags, in support of the autonomous island on Saturday evening. Others held signs with slogans such as “Make America Smart Again” and “Hands Off.”
“This is important for the whole world,” Danish protester Elise Riechie told The Associated Press, holding Danish and Greenlandic flags. “There are a lot of small countries. None of them are for sale.”
Other gatherings were organized in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, and elsewhere in the kingdom of Denmark.