Denmark says White House talks failed to alter US plans to 'conquer' Greenland

LAST UPDATE | 6 hrs ago

DENMARK’S TOP DIPLOMAT said today he failed to change the mind of US President Donald Trump’s administration on his threats to seize Greenland after flying to the White House for talks.

The foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland, an autonomous territory of Copenhagen, met with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in what they hoped would clear up “misunderstandings” after Trump’s bellicose language toward the NATO ally.

“We didn’t manage to change the American position. It’s clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told reporters after the meeting.

“And we made it very, very clear that this is not in the interest of the kingdom.”

The minister said a US takeover of Greenland, where Washington has long had a military base, was “absolutely not necessary.”

He said the issue was “very emotional” for the people of Greenland and Denmark, a steadfast US ally whose troops died alongside Americans in Afghanistan and, controversially, Iraq.

“Ideas that would not respect territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and the right of self-determination of the Greenlandic people are, of course, totally unacceptable,” Lokke said.

“We therefore still have a fundamental disagreement, but we also agree to disagree.”

He said the two sides would form a committee that would meet within weeks to see if there was possible headway.

Trump insisted hours before the talks that NATO should support the US effort to take control of Greenland, even though major European allies have all lined up to back Denmark.

Trump said Greenland was “vital” for his planned Golden Dome air and missile defense system.

“Anything less than that is unacceptable,” he wrote on his Truth Social network. “If we don’t, Russia or China will.”

Mocking tone

While the talks were underway, the White House posted on X: “Which way, Greenland man?”

The post included a drawing of two dogsleds – one heading towards the White House and a huge US flag, and the other towards Chinese and Russian flags over a lightning-bathed Kremlin and Great Wall of China.

Neither country has claimed Greenland, and Lokke said no Chinese ship had been spotted there in a decade.

Denmark promised ahead of the meeting to ramp up military presence further in the vast, sparsely populated and strategically located island.

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Trump has derided recent Danish efforts to increase security for Greenland as amounting to “two dogsleds.” Denmark says it has invested almost $14 billion (€12 billion) in Arctic security.

The row over Greenland has deeply shaken transatlantic relations. Both Denmark and Greenland insist only Greenlanders should decide the autonomous island’s fate.

In the quiet streets of the capital Nuuk, red and white Greenlandic flags were flying in shop windows, on apartment balconies, and on cars and buses, in a show of national unity as the talks got underway.

“We are standing together in these times when we might feel vulnerable,” the Nuuk municipality wrote on Facebook.

Greenland’s leader said Tuesday that the island prefers to remain part of Denmark, prompting Trump to say “that’s going to be a big problem for him.”

The meeting, however, was closed to the press, meaning there was no on-camera confrontation.

Troops

Germany and France said today they will send troops to Greenland along with other European countries.

The deployment of a 13-strong Bundeswehr reconnaissance team to the Greenlandic capital Nuuk from Thursday was at Denmark’s invitation, the German Defence Ministry said.

According to Berlin, the mission aims to “explore the framework conditions for possible military contributions to support Denmark in ensuring security in the region”.

France, the European Union’s only nuclear power, also confirmed that it would send troops to Greenland, after a high-stakes meeting between US, Danish and Greenlandic officials in Washington.

Sweden has also said it will take part in the European military mission.

Earlier today, MEP Barry Andrews, who was this week appointed to oversee a report on EU-Greenland relations, said the US could be targeted with trade sanctions if Trump follows through on his threat to annex the territory. 

The Fianna Fáil member of the EU Parliament stressed, however, that he does not believe the US will take such a drastic and hostile action against an EU territory. 

“There are lots of possibilities on the diplomatic side, but inevitably, we will also have to explore tougher measures if the US decides to do things unilaterally,” Andrews told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme today. 

He said those measures could include, for example, a freeze on an EU-US trade agreement due to be tabled before the European Parliament’s trade committee in the next few days.

Contains reporting from © AFP 2026

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