'Fundamental disagreement' with US over Greenland remains

Greenland Deputy Prime Minister Mute Egede said Wednesday that "soldiers of NATO are expected to be more present in Greenland from today and in the coming days" for "training." 

He added there would also be more military flights and ships.

Egede spoke to reporters after a meeting at the White House with US, Danish and Greenlandic officials and as US President Donald Trump continues to insist the US needs to control the Arctic island. Trump claims that only the US can adequately defend the strategically located island. 

Denmark has taken steps in recent days to increase military presence in Greenland, and has called for military exercises that will include aircraft, vessels and soldiers. Sweden said it would participate. On Wednesday, Germany and France both said they would send troops to Greenland for exercises. 

Denmark says it has invested almost $14 billion in Arctic security. Trump has derided the efforts to increase security for Greenland as amounting to "two dogsleds." 

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that Greenland was "very important" for national security, following a meeting with Greenlandic and Danish diplomats hosted by Vice President JD Vance in Washington. 

Trump, who didn't attend the talks, said: "There's not a thing that Denmark can do about it if Russia or China wants to occupy Greenland, but there's everything we can do. You found that out last week with Venezuela."

Denmark and other Nordic countries have said Trump's claims of Russian or Chinese activity near Denmark are unfounded. In any case, if the autonomous Danish territory were to be attacked, under NATO's Article 5, the US would be obliged to come to its defense. The US also maintains a military base on Greenland. 

In recent days, Denmark announced military exercises in Greenland, while earlier this week NATO chief Mark Rutte said that the alliance would begin working on bolstering its Arctic defense strategy. 

However, none of this has yet to appease Trump's fixation on putting Greenland under US control. 

Trump did appear to strike a conciliatory tone for the first time in comments on Wednesday. 

"I have a very good relationship with Denmark, and we'll see how it all works out. I think something will work out," Trump said without explaining further.

After leaving the White House on Wednesday,  Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said a US takeover of Greenland was "absolutely not necessary."

"We didn't manage to change the American position. It's clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland," Rasmussen told reporters. "We therefore still have a fundamental disagreement, but we also agree to disagree."

Rasmussen added that the tone of the meeting was "constructive" and that a committee would be formed to meet within weeks to find a "common way forward."

According to the AFP news agency, citing information from the military, France will send soldiers to join a European mission in Greenland alongside other nations. Further details were not provided.

Earlier in the day, Sweden, Norway, and Germany announced plans to deploy military personnel to the island.

This development follows Denmark's statement that it will immediately increase its military presence in and around Greenland.

Here are more quotes from the joint press conference of Greenland's Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen: 

• "We didn't manage to change the American position. It's clear that the president [Trump] has this wish of conquering Greenland. And we made it very, very clear that this is not in the interest of the [Danish] kingdom."
• "It is in everybody’s interest — even though we disagree — that we agree to try to explore whether it is doable to accommodate some of the concerns while at the same time respecting the integrity of the Danish kingdom’s territory and the self-determination of the Greenlandic people."
• "Even though our view on the situation right now around Greenland differs from public statements in the US, we share the concerns in the longtime perspective."

According to Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, "perspectives continue to differ" after a meeting with US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio over the future of Greenland.

"We still have a fundamental disagreement," Rasmussen said in a joint presser with Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt after the talks in Washington. 

"We didn't manage to change the American position," Rasmussen said of President Donald Trump's suggestion that the US should take control of Greenland. 

He did, however, say they agreed to form a "high-level" working group with the US to explore if it is possible to find a "common way forward."

"The group, in our view, should focus on how to address the American security concerns, while at the same time respecting the red lines of the Kingdom of Denmark," Rasmussen told reporters.

It is "absolutely not necessary" for the US to seize Greenland, the Danish minister stressed.

Meanwhile, Motzfeldt said ⁠that she wanted ⁠to strengthen cooperation ‌with the ‌United ⁠States but that ‍Greenland did not want ​to ​be owned by the US.

Germany will send its first soldiers ⁠to ‍Greenland this week, government spokesperson told the Reuters news agency. 

The German Defense Ministry later said that the deployment of a 13-strong Bundeswehr reconnaissance team from Thursday aims to "explore the framework conditions for possible military contributions to support Denmark in ensuring security in the region."

The deployment was first reported by Bild, a German mass-circulation newspaper.

Earlier in the day, the Danish defense ministry announced that Denmark will increase its military presence in Greenland "from today... in close cooperation with NATO allies."

Later, Sweden and Norway announced that they would be sending military personnel to Greenland.

The leaders of the European Parliament groups expressed unequivocal support for Greenland and Denmark.

In a statement, they urged the EU executive and its member states to offer "concrete and tangible support" to Greenland and Denmark and condemned demands by the US to take over Greenland.

These demands "constitute a blatant challenge to international law, to the principles of the United Nations Charter and to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a NATO ally," the leaders said.

They stressed that "the security of the Arctic is a strategic priority for the European Union, and we are firmly committed to safeguarding it."

"Decisions concerning Denmark and Greenland belong to Denmark and Greenland alone, in accordance with the relevant constitutional arrangements and agreements between Denmark and Greenland," the statement added.

It also recalled that, in 1916, the United States declared, through an agreement with Denmark, that Denmark had full sovereignty over Greenland.

Norway is sending military officers to Greenland, Defense ⁠Minister ‍Tore Sandvik said.

"Norway has ⁠decided to send two ‌staffers from ‌the ⁠Norwegian Armed Forces to map out the ‍further cooperation between (NATO) allies," ​Sandvik ​said in an emailed statement to the Reuters news agency.

He added that there was a dialogue within NATO on how to strengthen security in the Arctic, including in and around Greenland.

"No conclusions have been ‌made ‌yet," Sandvik said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Sweden announced that it had sent officers to participate in a military exercise in Greenland at Denmark's request.

After concluding their discussions, US Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the Danish-Greenlandic delegation led by Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeld left the Eisenhower Building on the White House campus.

While US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were hosting Danish and Greenlandic government ministers for talks, the White House posted a picture suggesting the choice Greenland faces.

The image, seemingly created with AI, showed Greenland could choose between a future as part of the US or one where China and Russia are in control.

"Which way, Greenland man?" it asked.

On Tuesday, Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said his country chose Denmark over the United States.

"We are now facing a geopolitical crisis, and if we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark," Nielsen said.

Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced that officers from his country will join a military exercise in Greenland after Denmark requested support. The move follows threats from US President Donald Trump to take control of the Danish autonomous territory.

"Some officers from the Swedish Armed Forces are arriving in Greenland today. They are part of a group from several allied countries. Together, they will prepare events within the framework of the Danish exercise Operation Arctic Endurance," Kristersson wrote on X.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Danish defense ministry announced that Denmark will increase its military presence in Greenland "from today... in close cooperation with NATO allies."

US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived at the White House to meet with the foreign ministers of Greenland and Denmark.

The meeting is taking place in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, located next to the West Wing. This building houses most of the offices for White House staff, as well as the vice president's main ceremonial office.

Donald Trump's stated desire to seize the Danish territory has provoked consternation both abroad and at home.

On Tuesday, Senator Lisa Murkowski from Trump's own Republican Party tabled a bill together with Democrat Jeanne Shaheen that would stop the US administration from annexing, occupying, or otherwise controlling the territory of a NATO ally without the consent of the partner nation.

The senators warned that any attempt to seize Greenland would be in breach of the NATO treaty, undermine solidarity within the military alliance and run counter to efforts to deal with threats from Russia and China.

"NATO remains the most successful defensive alliance in history, and its credibility rests on the shared understanding that member states' sovereignty will be respected and defended by one another," the senators said.

The odds of the bill passing the Senate and later the House of Representatives appear slim, however. Republicans have majorities in both chambers.

A similar bipartisan measure has also been introduced in the House of Representatives, supported by more than 20 lawmakers.

After the White House talks on Wednesday, a senior delegation from the US Congress, consisting mostly of Democrats but with one Republican, is set to visit Copenhagen in a show of solidarity.

"President Trump's continued threats toward Greenland are unnecessary and would only weaken our NATO alliance," said Dick Durbin, the second-highest-ranking Senate Democrat.

US President Donald Trump has said that the US "needs" the huge, resource-rich and strategically important Arctic island, which he says would otherwise be taken over by Russia or China, despite neither of those countries voicing any aim to do so.

• Trump's ambitions in Greenland go back to his first term as president (2017-2021)
• The issue regained prominence after Trump's return to the White House this year
• On Friday, Trump said that he wanted mineral-rich Greenland 'whether they like it or not'
• 'If we don't do it the easy way, we're going to do it the hard way,' he warned
• Greenland PM Jens Frederik Nielsen said the territory's inhabitants don't want to be part of the US
• 'That's going to be a big problem for him,' Trump said,
• Trump also claimed that he does not 'know anything' about Nielsen

Denmark will increase its military presence in Greenland "from today," the Danish defense ministry said Wednesday.

The move is in response to unspecified "geopolitical tensions" that have "spread to the Arctic," the ministry said in a statement.

"From today, there will be an expanded military presence in and around Greenland – in close cooperation with NATO allies," the ministry said, adding that the increased presence would help "strengthen the alliance’s footprint in the Arctic, benefiting both European and transatlantic security."

The statement explained that more aircraft, vessels and soldiers, from Denmark and from NATO allies, would be deployed to Greenland.

The deployment also foresees military exercises for this year, which could include guarding critical infrastructure, assisting local Greenland authorities such as the police, hosting allied troops, conducting naval operations and deploying fighter aircraft in the area, the statement said.

Greenland's Foreign Minister Vivan Motzfeldt, who will be attending the talks in Washington DC later on Wednesday, said, "It is a core priority for the Government of Greenland that defence and security in and around Greenland are strengthened, and that this is achieved in close cooperation with our NATO allies."

Danish Defense Minister Lund Poulsen, for his part, said: "Security in the Arctic is of crucial importance to the Kingdom of Denmark and our Arctic allies, and it is therefore important that we, in close cooperation with allies, further strengthen our ability to operate in the region."

"The Danish Armed Forces, together with a number of Arctic and European allies, will explore in the coming weeks how an increased presence and exercise activity in the Arctic can be implemented in practice," Poulsen added.

The statement made no direct mention of the United States.