US to have technical meeting on Arctic island with Greenland, Denmark: Rubio

WASHINGTON

The US will have technical meetings with Greenland and Denmark on the Arctic island, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday.

“I'll say we're in a good place right now,” Rubio told lawmakers on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during a hearing on the Trump administration’s operations in Venezuela.

Rubio said the US had "excellent meetings" on Greenland with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, last week.

"I think we have in place a process that's going to bring us to a good outcome for everybody," he said.

He reiterated that President Donald Trump wants Greenland for national security interests.

"It's a long-standing interest that predate this administration. It's one that our allies acknowledge is real. I think we're going to get something positive done," he said.

Last week, following his meeting with Rutte, Trump said that a framework for a deal involving Greenland and the broader Arctic region was established.

Greenland has attracted Trump's attention due to its strategic Arctic position, extensive mineral resources and alleged concerns about a growing Russian and Chinese presence.

Denmark and Greenland have rejected proposals to sell the territory, reaffirming Danish sovereignty over the island.

Trump 'meant to say Greenland'

Rubio was also asked about Trump misspeaking when he repeatedly referred to Greenland as Iceland at the WEF.

"The president repeatedly mistook Iceland for Greenland, right? We're not mad at Iceland, correct?" Sen. Tim Kaine asked.

"He meant to say Greenland," Rubio replied. "But I think we're all familiar with presidents that have verbal stumbles. We've had presidents like that before. Some made a lot more than this one.”

Following Trump's “verbal stumbles,” a White House spokeswoman rejected claims that Trump confused the countries.

“His written remarks referred to Greenland as a ‘piece of ice’ because that’s what it is. You’re the only one mixing anything up here,” Leavitt responded to a reporter on US social media company X.