The United States could be looking at a bill as high as $700 billion if it tried to fulfill President Donald Trump's long-stated goal of buying Greenland, according to three people familiar with a cost estimate developed for planning purposes.

These sources told NBC News that the estimate was prepared by scholars and former American officials as Trump weighs ways to strengthen America's position in the Arctic, where Greenland's massive footprint — about 800,000 square miles — is seen by the Trump administration as a strategic buffer against U.S. adversaries.

The potential price tag would exceed half the Pentagon's annual budget, a figure that has fueled concern in Europe and on Capitol Hill amid Trump's renewed rhetoric about acquiring Greenland "one way or the other."

The semi-autonomous Danish territory has repeatedly said it is not for sale, and officials from both Copenhagen and Greenland have rejected the idea that the United States could simply seize control of the island.

Still, a senior White House official told the outlet that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been directed to produce a proposal in the coming weeks to purchase Greenland, calling it a "high priority" for Trump.

Rubio and Vice President JD Vance are scheduled to meet Wednesday with officials from Denmark and Greenland, who have traveled to Washington, D.C., seeking clarity on Trump's intentions.

The meeting follows lower-level discussions last week between Danish and Greenlandic representatives and the White House National Security Council.

Asked on Sunday whether Greenland could offer a deal, Trump told reporters, "I'd love to make a deal with them."

"It's easier," he said. "But one way or the other, we're going to have Greenland."

Ahead of the meetings with U.S. officials, Greenland's government signaled its stance had not changed.

"Greenland does not want to be owned by, governed by or part of the United States," Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt said upon arriving in Washington on Tuesday. "We choose the Greenland we know today — as part of the Kingdom of Denmark."

Greenland's minister for business and mineral resources, Naaja Nathanielsen, said the U.S. messaging has rattled residents.

"This is really filling the agenda and the discussions around the households," she said. "So, it's a massive pressure that we are under, and people are feeling the effects of it."

Nathanielsen added, "We have no intentions of becoming American."

A U.S. official familiar with the issue noted the United States can expand its military and security footprint in Greenland under the current agreement between the two nations.

"Why invade the cow when they'll sell you the milk at relatively good prices?" the official said.

While some within the Trump administration have raised military force as a possibility, others see a negotiated purchase or a new alliance as more likely.

One alternative discussed publicly is a compact of free association — U.S. financial support in exchange for security access — similar to agreements with the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau, and potentially less costly than the $500 billion to $700 billion purchase estimate.

Trump has argued that ownership — rather than leasing — would lock in long-term U.S. control, and some experts say his interest is driven in part by fears that an independent Greenland's 27,000 miles of coastline could become vulnerable to Russia or China.

Newsmax reached out to the White House for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

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