A White House meeting with officials from Denmark and Greenland on Wednesday reportedly failed to move the needle on President Donald Trump’s push to acquire Greenland, according to Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, underscoring a growing divide between Washington and Copenhagen over the future of the strategically critical Arctic territory.
Rasmussen made the remarks at a press conference alongside Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt after talks with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. While Denmark retains responsibility for Greenland’s defense, the territory largely governs itself. In recent weeks, Trump has intensified his argument that Greenland should become part of the United States, citing national security concerns and the growing importance of the Arctic region.
Rasmussen described the meeting as “frank and constructive,” but said it ultimately ended with both sides holding their ground. Denmark, he said, remains committed to what he called clear “red lines” regarding sovereignty and self-determination.
“We, the Kingdom of Denmark, continue to believe that also the long-term security of Greenland can be ensured inside the current framework,” Rasmussen said, pointing to the 1951 defense agreement covering Greenland and Denmark’s obligations under the NATO treaty. He added that any proposal failing to respect Denmark’s territorial integrity or the right of the Greenlandic people to decide their own future was “totally unacceptable.”
Rasmussen acknowledged the fundamental disagreement with Washington but said both sides agreed to continue talking. Motzfeldt echoed that position, stressing Greenland’s desire to deepen cooperation with the United States while rejecting the idea of becoming U.S. territory.
“It remains important for Greenland to strengthen our cooperation with the United States,” Motzfeldt said, “but that doesn’t mean that we want to be owned by the United States.”
Despite the impasse, Danish and Greenlandic officials said discussions would continue in the coming weeks to see whether a “common way forward” could be found. Rasmussen said he shares the Trump administration’s concern about the Arctic’s evolving security environment but downplayed the immediacy of threats from China and Russia, noting that China currently has no presence in Greenland.
“There’s no Chinese presence in Greenland,” Rasmussen said, while acknowledging long-term concerns about what the region could look like a decade or two from now. He argued that Greenland’s investment policies and Denmark’s approach ensure the territory remains secure and aligned with Western interests.
Trump, however, has repeatedly rejected that assessment. He has warned that without U.S. control, Greenland could eventually fall under the influence of Russia or China. In a Truth Social post Wednesday morning, Trump said the United States needs Greenland for national security reasons and tied the territory directly to American defense priorities.
“The United States needs Greenland for the purpose of National Security,” Trump wrote, calling it vital to the “Golden Dome” defense system his administration is building. He also argued that NATO itself would be stronger if Greenland were under U.S. control, saying the alliance would be “far more formidable and effective” with the island in American hands.
Trump concluded that any alternative was unacceptable, reinforcing his administration’s hard line on the issue. As Denmark and Greenland met with White House officials, several NATO countries announced plans to expand their military presence around Greenland, a move that highlights the region’s growing strategic importance and lends weight to Trump’s broader argument that the Arctic is becoming an increasingly critical front in global security.
