<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Trump administration is "actively" discussing the potential purchase of Greenland, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, saying the US president is prioritising a diplomatic solution but is "(keeping) his options open."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Greenland has catapulted to the forefront of international headlines in the aftermath of the US capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, with the Trump administration renewing his interest in obtaining the Arctic island.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>US officials have repeatedly said it is a national security imperative.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-threats-against-greenland-pose-new-potentially-unprecedented-challenge-to-nato/771bda31-e35d-4834-a5be-6fc93c354ba5" rel="" target="_blank" title="Trump threats against Greenland pose new, potentially unprecedented challenge to NATO"><strong><span>Trump threats against Greenland pose new, potentially unprecedented challenge to NATO</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>An acquisition of Greenland, Leavitt told reporters on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT), is "something that's currently being actively discussed by the president and his national security team".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She described Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, as "advantageous for America's national security".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Leavitt was pressed on why Trump has not ruled out military action to take over Greenland, a possibility that has prompted significant pushback from Denmark and other NATO allies.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/trump-actively-discussing-potentially-buying-greenland/e3658bd0-9819-4001-ae9f-6d60cc43c9fb" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"All options are always on the table for President Trump as he examines what's in the best interest of the United States, but I will just say that the president's first option always has been diplomacy," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The situation has been clouded by reports this week of increased US military aircraft arriving at American bases in England, including RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, reports AP.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-military-action-in-venezuela-is-seen-as-both-a-blessing-and-a-curse-for-russia-vladimir-putin/5b040f8b-138c-4a26-9ed2-d08cb8c7868f"><strong><span>US military action in Venezuela is both a blessing and a curse for Putin</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Meanwhile, leading Republican members of Congress are publicly urging the Trump administration to cease any further threats of military action in Greenland.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska offered perhaps the strongest criticism of the White House's formal declaration on Tuesday that officials were still considering the use of the US military to take Greenland.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I hate the rhetoric around either acquiring Greenland by purchase or by force. And you know, I don't use the word hate very often, but I think that it is very, very unsettling," she said after a closed-door briefing with top officials from the Trump administration.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>House Speaker Mike Johnson downplayed the Trump administration's talk on acquiring Greenland in a separate press conference.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"All this stuff about military action and all that, I don't think it's a possibility. I don't think anybody's seriously considered that," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that he will be meeting with Danish officials next week, following renewed US interest in taking over Greenland.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His remarks come after Greenland's foreign minister and the Danish foreign minister requested a meeting with the top US diplomat.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/Z8tJCf"><strong><span>Sign up here</span></strong></a><strong><span> to receive our daily newsletters and breaking news alerts, sent straight to your inbox.</span></strong></div></div>