Above photo: Christian Klindt Soelbeck / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP.
NATO states are considering expanded Arctic military measures.
As Washington refuses to rule out the use of force against Danish territory.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen announced on 14 January that talks with US officials at the White House did “little” to budge Washington’s position on annexing Greenland.
Rasmussen said the US remained fixed on acquiring the Arctic territory, despite Danish objections and warnings that such a move would violate sovereignty and Greenlanders’ right to self-determination.
“We did not manage to change the American position,” he told reporters after the meeting in Washington.
Present at the talks were Rasmussen, Greenland’s Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt, US Vice President JD Vance, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
They agreed to establish a high-level working group to address US security concerns related to Greenland, while Denmark and Greenland reiterated what Rasmussen described as “red lines.”
The Danish foreign minister said any plan that undermines Danish sovereignty or Greenland’s political rights is “totally unacceptable,” rejecting claims that Russia or China pose an immediate threat requiring US control of the island.
He also dismissed Trump’s portrayal of Chinese or Russian military encirclement, saying it was “not a true narrative.”
Motzfeldt echoed that position, stressing that Greenland values its alliance with Washington but does not accept ownership. “That does not mean we want to be owned by the United States,” she said.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said Greenland is “vital” for US national security, citing its strategic location, mineral resources, and role in his planned Golden Dome air and missile defense system.
In social media posts ahead of the meeting, Trump wrote that NATO would be “far more formidable” if Greenland were under US control and warned that “anything less than that is unacceptable.”
Both Denmark and Greenland rejected those claims, insisting the island is not for sale and that security concerns should be handled within existing alliances. Danish officials said Copenhagen has already increased its military presence in and around Greenland in coordination with NATO allies.
The standoff has drawn wider European backing for Denmark, with EU leaders publicly affirming Greenlanders’ right to self-determination, while polls cited by Reuters showed only one in five US citizens supported Trump’s push to acquire the territory, mirrored by polling in Greenland showing a comparable aversion to becoming US citizens.
NATO states are also reportedly considering measures to bolster Arctic military presence after US claims over Greenland intensified, and officials declined to rule out the use of force to take control of the semi-autonomous Danish territory
Greenland’s Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said this is “not the time” to discuss independence, warning that external pressure threatens the island’s political future.
