Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni ‍said on Friday (January 9, 2026) she did not believe the ​United States would use military force to ‌seize Greenland, warning that such ​a move would have grave consequences for NATO.

At her traditional New Year’s press conference, Ms. Meloni added that there was a need for a “serious and significant” NATO presence in the Arctic region, including Greenland.

“I continue not to believe ​in the hypothesis that the United States ⁠would launch a military action to take control of Greenland, an option I would clearly not support,” Ms. Meloni ​said.

“I believe it would ⁠not be in anyone’s interest. I think it would not even be in the interest of the United States of America, to ‌be clear,” she added.

A weekend U.S. ‌military operation that seized the leader of Venezuela rekindled concerns about U.S. ‍intentions towards Greenland. The White House said on Tuesday that the U.S. was considering a range ‍of options to acquire Greenland, including the use of military force.

Ms. Meloni, who is seen as one of U.S. President Donald Trump’s closest allies in Europe, said it was “clear to everyone” that any U.S. move on Greenland would have a significant impact on NATO, adding this was ⁠the reason she did not think Washington would act on its threats.

However, she ​said it was important for NATO to ⁠boost its presence in the Arctic region, adding that she understood U.S. concerns for the need to prevent “excessive interference from other actors that could even be hostile”. 

Denmark and Greenland are seeking a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio after the Trump administration doubled down on its intention to take over the strategic Arctic island, a Danish territory.

Tensions escalated after the White House said on Tuesday that the “U.S. military is always an option”, even as a series of European leaders rejected President Donald Trump’s renewed calls for the US to take over Greenland, citing strategic reasons.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned earlier this week that a U.S. takeover would amount to the end of the NATO military alliance.

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“The Nordics do not lightly make statements like this,” Maria Martisiute, a defence analyst at the European Policy Centre think tank, told The Associated Press on Wednesday (January 7, 2026).

“But it is Trump, whose very bombastic language bordering on direct threats and intimidation, is threatening the fact to another ally by saying ‘I will control or annex the territory’.”

The leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the U.K. joined Mr. Frederiksen in a statement Tuesday reaffirming that the mineral-rich island “belongs to its people”.

Their statement defended the sovereignty of Greenland, which is a self-governing territory of Denmark and thus part of NATO.

Mr. Trump has floated since his first term the idea of acquiring Greenland, arguing that the U.S. needs to control the world’s largest island to ensure its own security in the face of rising threats from China and Russia in the Arctic.

This weekend’s U.S. military action in Venezuela has heightened fears across Europe, and Mr. Trump and his advisers in recent days have reiterated the U.S. leader’s desire to take over the island, which guards the Arctic and North Atlantic approaches to North America.

“It’s so strategic right now,” Mr. Trump told reporters Sunday (January 4, 2026) .

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt, have requested a meeting with Mr. Rubio in the near future, according to a statement posted on Tuesday (January 6) to Greenland’s government website. Previous requests for a sit-down were not successful, the statement said.

While most U.S. Republicans have supported Mr. Trump’s statement, Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Thom Tillis, the Democratic and Republican co-chairs of the bipartisan Senate NATO Observer Group, blasted Mr. Trump’s rhetoric in a statement on Tuesday.

“When Denmark and Greenland make it clear that Greenland is not for sale, the United States must honour its treaty obligations and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark,” the statement said.

“Any suggestion that our nation would subject a fellow NATO ally to coercion or external pressure undermines the very principles of self-determination that our Alliance exists to defend.”

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said he spoke by phone on Tuesday with Mr. Rubio, who dismissed the idea of a Venezuela-style operation in Greenland.

“In the United States, there is massive support for the country belonging to NATO – a membership that, from one day to the next, would be compromised by… any form of aggressiveness toward another member of NATO,” Mr. Barrot told France Inter radio Wednesday.

Asked if he has a plan in case Trump does claim Greenland, Mr. Barrot said he won’t engage in “fiction diplomacy”.

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Sunday (January 4, 2025) urged ‍U.S. President Donald Trump to stop threatening to take over ​Greenland, after he reiterated his wish to do so ‌in an interview with The Atlantic ​magazine.

“It makes absolutely no sense to talk about the U.S. needing to take over Greenland. The U.S. has no right to annex any of the three countries in the Danish Kingdom,” Ms. Frederiksen said in a statement on Sunday (January 4).

Mr. Trump told the magazine: “We do need Greenland, absolutely. We ​need it for defense.”

He spoke a day ⁠after the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the president said Washington would run the Latin American country.

This raised concerns in Denmark that ​the same could happen with ⁠Greenland, a Danish territory.

Ms. Frederiksen said: “I would therefore strongly urge the U.S. stop the threats against a historically close ally and against another country and another people, ‌who have very clearly said that they are not ‌for sale.”

The Greenlandic prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment ‍outside regular office hours.

Strategically important island

Mr. Trump on December 21 named Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as special envoy to ‍Greenland, drawing renewed criticism from Denmark and Greenland over Washington’s interest in the mineral-rich Arctic island.

Mr. Trump has advocated for Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory, to become part of the United States. Mr. Landry publicly supports the idea.

The Arctic island’s strategic position between Europe and North America makes it a key site for the U.S. ballistic missile defence system, while ⁠its mineral wealth is attractive as the U.S. hopes to reduce its reliance on Chinese ​exports.

Greenland, a former Danish colony, has the right to ⁠declare independence under a 2009 agreement but depends heavily on Danish subsidies.

Denmark has sought to repair strained ties with Greenland over the past year, while also trying to ease tensions with the Trump administration by ⁠investing in Arctic defence.