Trump insists the U.S. must take control of Greenland to prevent Russia or China from doing the same — an argument Beijing dismissed Monday as "an excuse" to pursue territorial ambitions.

The White House has kept all options for acquiring Greenland on the table, refusing to rule out military action.

Greenland’s prime minister said he was trying to end a "geopolitical crisis" by declaring Greenland wants to be part of Denmark, not the U.S.

I mean, NATO would have an obligation to defend Greenland. And so query whether we would be at war with Europe, with England, with France,” Sen. Chris Murphy said.

The EU has discussed what a European response would look like if the U.S. threat on acquiring Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, is real, European Union foreign

Trump has said the U.S. "needs" Greenland for security reasons, amid the specter of force to take control of the vast Arctic island.

European nations are implementing a dual strategy to address concerns over US President Trump's interest in Greenland. This includes a permanent mission established by the UK and Norway to secure the Arctic,

"On ​Greenland, allow ⁠me to be clear: Greenland belongs to its people. Nothing can be decided about Denmark and about Greenland without Denmark, or without Greenland," Costa said ‌in a speech marking the assumption by Cyprus ​of the ‌rotating presidency of ‍the ⁠EU. "They have the full support and solidarity of the European Union," he said.