Irish PM calls for 'common sense' on Greenland

Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Micheál Martin has said "common sense needs to prevail" when asked about the US acquiring Greenland.

On Tuesday the White House said the "US military is always an option" to achieve President Donald Trump's goal of taking over the semi-autonomous region.

The statement came hours after European leaders issued a joint statement rallying behind Nato member Denmark, which has been pushing back against Trump's ambitions for the Arctic island.

Speaking in Shanghai, where he is on an official visit to China, Martin told reporters Greenland is part of Denmark and the EU is "rock solid behind Denmark in that regard".

"The US has always had a military base in Greenland," he said.

"I know the Danish Prime Minister has been engaged with the White House and is very clear that any issues that need to be resolved are open to discussion in terms of the military base that's there.

"In terms of the sovereignty and the territorial integrity that's a matter for the Kingdom of Denmark and the Greenlanders," he added.

Greenland is the world's largest island and an autonomous Danish dependent territory with self-government and its own parliament.

Though a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe.

Trump repeated over the weekend that the US "needed" Greenland for security reasons, prompting Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to warn that any attack by the US would spell the end of Nato.

The White House said on Tuesday: "The president and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilising the US military is always an option at the Commander-in-Chief's disposal."

Nato is a trans-Atlantic military group in which allies are expected to go to each other's aid in case of external attacks.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also told lawmakers at a classified briefing on Capitol Hill on Monday that the Trump administration did not plan to invade Greenland, but he mentioned instead buying the island from Denmark, the Wall Street Journal and other US media reported.

Martin said he does not think the idea to buy Greenland is realistic or possible in the future.

Martin travelled to Beijing on Sunday, where he met Chinese leaders.

During the four-day visit, he called for open trade and stronger cooperation while promoting Irish business, education, and investment links.

Speaking in Shanghai on Tuesday Martin said the sooner the world collectively gets back to reforming the United Nations (UN) to make it more authoritative and representative - the better.

"The world is in a very difficult situation right now," he said.

"Because we are in a period, where to me, the significant authority of the UN has been eroded and the world needs to be careful about all that."

On Tuesday, six European allies expressed support for Denmark.

"Greenland belongs to its people, and only Denmark and Greenland can decide on matters concerning their relations," the leaders of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Denmark said in a joint statement.

Stressing they were as keen as the US in Arctic security, the European signatories of the joint statement said this must be achieved by Nato allies, including the US "collectively".

They also called for "upholding the principles of the UN Charter, including sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders".