Rubio downplays threat of military invasion of Greenland and instead pushes plans to buy the island

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has thrown cold water on fears the U.S. was considering invading Greenland as President Donald Trump and members of the administration become increasingly aggressive in their remarks about taking over the territory.

At a closed-door briefing with lawmakers Monday evening, Rubio said the Trump administration was looking at options to purchase the territory from Denmark, rather than take it by force, according to the Wall Street Journal and New York Times.

Rubio’s update came during a briefing about Venezuela after lawmakers expressed concerns about the U.S. position on Greenland, citing recent comments made by Trump and White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller.

Trump has long expressed interest in acquiring Greenland for national security and natural resources purposes, but recently appeared to ramp up his position. “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security,” he told reporters Sunday.

Miller heightened concerns of an invasion when he told CNN earlier this week that the U.S. would use its military “unapologetically” and that “nobody is going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland.”

Greenland, which has been a territory of Denmark since 1953, is located between Europe, North America and Northern Asia in the Arctic Circle. Its centralized location has been of national interest to the U.S. for years.

More recently, it’s become commercially important because, as ice melts in the Arctic due to climate change, it could be used for expanded shipping and transit routes.

But taking control of the island may prove more difficult than a military invasion or simple purchase. Members of NATO, and close allies to the U.S., have warned Trump not to take the Danish territory – which has repeatedly denied interest in becoming part of the U.S.

“Greenland belongs to its people,” a statement, signed by the leaders of Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain, read.

A State Department spokesperson said the U.S. is eager to build a commercial relationship with Greenland and views it as a valuable asset as adversaries become increasingly active in the Arctic Circle. To stress the importance, Trump has tapped Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as Special Envoy to Greenland.

White House Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt echoed those sentiments in a statement. “President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region,” she said.

“The president and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the U.S. military is always an option at the commander in chief’s disposal.”

But lawmakers on both sides of the aisle reacted with worry over Trump and Miller’s refusal to rule out the use of military force to acquire Greenland.

Republican Rep. Don Bacon warned there was “no upside to damning allies.” Republican Senator Tom Tillis and Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen issued a statement reminding Trump to “respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of Denmark.