Denmark, Greenland and US agree to continue talks after "frank, but constructive" meeting

Danish Foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said talks between Denmark, Greenland and the United States were "frank, but also constructive". He was speaking to the press on Wednesday following a meeting with Greenlandic Foreign minister Vivian Motzfeldt, US vice president JD Vance and Foreign minister Marco Rubio.

US president Donald Trump has for months suggested that the United States could seek to take control of Greenland, including by military means if necessary. Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark and therefore part of the American-led NATO alliance.

During their meeting on Wednesday, Denmark, Greenland and the US agreed to continue discussions and to set up a joint working group, which is expected to meet for the first time within the coming weeks. Despite their "fundamental disagreement," they will have to "agree to disagree," Rasmussen said.

Tensions nevertheless persist. Shortly after the end of the talks, the White House shared a cartoon on X, suggesting that Greenland’s population would have to choose between alignment with the US or with China and Russia. Earlier on Wednesday, US president Donald Trump called on NATO to help the US annex Greenland. "If we don't, Russia or China will," he added.

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Military operation not being considered

Denmark, meanwhile, is strengthening its military presence in Greenland starting on Wednesday, together with NATO allies. Sweden has already dispatched armed forces to the island, its prime minister Ulf Kristersson confirmed on Wednesday. Norway, Germany and France later also confirmed they are doing the same.

Still, the United States is not currently considering a military operation to seize Greenland, Belgian Foreign minister Maxime Prévot said on Wednesday. He made the remarks during a session of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Chamber.

"From various contacts I have had, it appears that the capture of the territory by means of an armed operation is not being considered. Everyone understands the explosive consequences this would have for international relations, particularly within NATO," Prévot said.

^{Greenland's Foreign minister Vivian Motzfeldt and Denmark's Foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen. PHOTO © Mads Claus Rasmussen / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP}

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