By Stine Jacobsen
COPENHAGEN, Jan 16 (Reuters) - A bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers will meet with the leaders of Denmark and Greenland on Friday to reassure them of congressional support despite
President Donald Trump's threats to seize the Arctic island.
Trump has said Greenland is vital to U.S. security because of its strategic location and large supply of minerals and has not ruled out the use of force to take it. European nations this week sent small numbers of military personnel to the island at Denmark's request.
The 11-member U.S. delegation, led by Democratic Senator Chris Coons, is scheduled to meet with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her Greenlandic counterpart Jens-Frederik Nielsen, according to Frederiksen's office.
"At a time of increasing international instability, we need to draw closer to our allies, not drive them away," Coons said in a press release earlier this week, adding the delegation would send "a clear message that Congress is committed to NATO."
The delegation includes Republican Senators Thom Tillis and Lisa Murkowski, though it is largely composed of Democratic lawmakers.
COPENHAGEN VISIT FOLLOWS WHITE HOUSE MEETING
The congressional visit follows a high-stakes meeting at the White House on Wednesday, where Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance.
Danish officials said after that meeting they had not managed to change the U.S. administration's position on acquiring Greenland.
Rasmussen and Motzfeldt have also been meeting with U.S. lawmakers in Washington this week to rally congressional support, as Denmark and Greenland seek to resolve the unprecedented diplomatic crisis with a NATO ally.
"(We are) ready for cooperation on security in the Arctic but it has to happen with respect for our territorial integrity, international law and the UN Charter," Rasmussen said in a post on Instagram late on Thursday.
Trump first floated the idea of acquiring Greenland in 2019 during his first term, but faces opposition in Washington, including from within his own party.
BIPARTISAN OPPOSITION TO GREENLAND SEIZURE
Lawmakers from both Trump's Republican party and opposition Democrats have said they would back legislation to rein in Trump's ability to seize Greenland, amid an ongoing fight over war powers, which the Constitution grants to Congress.
A House bill in support of annexing Greenland has also been introduced.
Just 17% of Americans approve of President Donald Trump's efforts to acquire Greenland, and large majorities of Democrats and Republicans oppose using military force to annex the island, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found. Trump has called the poll "fake."
(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen in Copenhagen, additional reporting by Simon Lewis in Washington; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
