Denmark Maintains ‘Fundamental Disagreement’ With Trump On Greenland After White House Meeting

The White House’s meeting with Denmark and Greenland on Wednesday did not change any minds on President Donald Trump’s push to acquire Greenland, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen spoke at a press conference alongside Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt after meeting with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Denmark oversees Greenland’s defense while the territory is largely self-governing. In recent weeks, Trump has ramped up his push to make Greenland a territory of the United States for national security purposes.

The meeting on Wednesday was “frank and constructive,” but ultimately the sides agreed to disagree, with Denmark sticking firm to its “red lines,” according to Rasmussen.

“We, the Kingdom of Denmark, continue to believe that also the long-term security of Greenland can be ensured inside the current framework, the 1951 agreement on the defense of Greenland as well as the NATO treaty,” he said. “For us, ideas that would not respect the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and the right of self-determination of the Greenlandic people are, of course, totally unacceptable.”

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

Motzfeldt said that it remains important for Greenland to “strengthen our cooperation with the United States, but that doesn’t mean that we want to be owned by the United States.”

Denmark and Greenland agreed to continue the discussions to see “if we can find a common way forward,” the Danish foreign minister said. The discussions are expected to continue in the coming weeks. Rasmussen said he agreed with the Trump administration’s concerns about the security situation in the Arctic, but added that he does not see China and Russia representing an “instant threat.”

“There’s no Chinese presence in Greenland, but there’s a concern: would that be the case in 10 or 20 years from now?” Rasmussen asked. “It will not because our Greenlandic friends have introduced investments … and Denmark is, by all means, on the right side of history.”

Trump disagrees and has argued that if the United States doesn’t take control of Greenland, “Russia or China will.”

“The United States needs Greenland for the purpose of National Security. It is vital for the Golden Dome that we are building. NATO should be leading the way for us to get it,” Trump said in a Truth Social post Wednesday morning. Trump argued that NATO would also be safer if the United States made a move on Greenland.

“NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the UNITED STATES. Anything less than that is unacceptable,” Trump said.

As Denmark and Greenland met with the White House, multiple NATO countries said that they would expand their military presence around Greenland.