White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday there is no definite date for the U.S. to acquire Greenland but emphasized it's crucial for President Donald Trump.
"He has not set a timeline, but it's definitely a priority for him," Leavitt told reporters at the White House.
Leavitt said the president believes U.S. control of the semiautonomous Danish territory is critical to preventing adversaries from gaining influence in the region.
She argued that if the U.S. does not move to acquire Greenland, the island could eventually be "acquired or even perhaps hostilely taken over" by China or Russia — an outcome she said would be dangerous for America, Europe, and Greenland itself.
"Let's not forget: It would not just be in the best interest of the United States, but perhaps it would be in the best interest of Greenland as well to be a part of the United States and protected by the United States," she continued.
Trump, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday evening, said the U.S. will have Greenland "one way or another," renewing a push he and his allies frame as a national security issue tied to Arctic defense and strategic competition with Russia and China.
Greenland's leaders and Denmark have repeatedly rejected any U.S. takeover.
Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and four party leaders said in a joint statement Friday that the island's future "must be decided by the Greenlandic people."
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also warned that an American attack on Greenland would effectively end NATO, telling Danish broadcaster TV2 that if "the U.S. chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, everything stops."
European leaders have echoed Denmark's position, stressing that Greenland's status is a matter for Greenland and Denmark to decide.
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