Denmark stands firm on Greenland after Rubio says Trump's interest is no joke

COPENHANGEN (Reuters) - Denmark said on Friday it meant seriously that Greenland is not for sale, after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said U.S. President Donald Trump's interest in acquiring the island was "not a joke".

Trump says he will make the autonomous territory of Denmark a part of the United States, and has not ruled out using military or economic power to persuade Denmark to hand it over.

Rubio told Sirius XM's The Megyn Kelly Show on Thursday that acquiring Greenland was in the U.S. national interest. Trump had not ruled out military coercion to acquire it so as not to take leverage off the table, he said.

"This is not a joke," Rubio said. "This is not about acquiring land for the purpose of acquiring land. This is in our national interest and it needs to be solved."

Responding to Rubio's interview, Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said: "I would be more surprised if he had said it was a joke."

"We seriously mean - and this is also true in Greenland - that Greenland is not for sale."

The island has around 57,000 residents who govern their own domestic affairs. Denmark is responsible for Greenland's defence and security, and says only Greenlanders can decide their future. The United States operates an airbase there under treaty.

Opinion polls show most residents of Greenland favour a looser relationship with Denmark but also oppose the territory becoming part of the United States.

Greenland's Prime Minister Mute Egede, who has stepped up a push for independence from Denmark, has also repeatedly said the island is not for sale and its people must decide their own fate.

Rubio in the interview said the Arctic was going to become critical for shipping lanes and the United States needs to be able to defend this. He said U.S. rival China may seek to develop its presence.

Asked if the U.S. would own Greenland in four years, Rubio said: "Obviously that's the president's priority and he has made that point ... We're not in a position yet to discuss exactly how we'll proceed tactically. What I think you can rest assured of is that four years from now, our interest in the Arctic will be more secure."

Rasmussen said that the U.S. interests outlined by Rubio in the interview match those of the Kingdom of Denmark.

"If we can have a substantive discussion about this, then we will also find a solution," he said.

Referring to Rubio's comments, Rasmussen said: "It is summed up in this ambition that if the United States just owned the whole world, then everything would be under control. But that is not going to happen, so we have to find another form where we jointly accomplish these tasks."

(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; Editing by Peter Graff)