A patrol vessel marked "P571" sails past fuel storage tanks along the coastline near Nuuk Airport, with snow-covered islands in the background, in Nuuk, Greenland, on January 20, 2026. Jonathan Nackstrand/ AFP via Getty Images
President Donald Trump has long hinted at an interest in purchasing or annexing Greenland “for the purpose of national security” before Russian or Chinese interests are entrenched in the area.
The autonomous Danish territory straddles key sea lanes, including trans-Arctic shipping corridors, and is rich in critical minerals and rare earths.
