Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen speaks with journalists ahead of the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels on January 29, 2026.
Simon Wolfert | AFP | Getty Images
Denmark’s foreign minister on Thursday welcomed “very constructive” high-level talks on Greenland’s future, saying talks on the island were “back on track”.
Talks between the United States, Greenland and Denmark in Washington on Wednesday are aimed at resolving a diplomatic crisis caused by President Donald Trump’s repeated threats against the vast, sparsely populated Arctic island.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lökke Rasmussen told reporters in Brussels ahead of a meeting of European Union foreign ministers that the meeting “went well.”
“A new meeting is being planned with a very constructive atmosphere and tone,” Rasmussen said.
“Things aren’t resolved, but it’s good that we’re back to what we agreed to in Washington exactly two weeks and one day ago. There was a big detour after that. Things escalated, but now we’re back on track,” Rasmussen said.
“I can’t draw any conclusions, but I’m a little more optimistic today than I was a week ago,” he added.
Last week, in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, President Trump reversed the imposition of tariffs on several European countries that opposed Denmark’s takeover, and for the first time ruled out the possibility of an occupation by force.
President Trump then declared on Truth Social that there was a “framework for a future agreement” on Greenland, and later told CNBC that he had a “vision” for it.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers on Wednesday that talks over Greenland’s future will be conducted in a “very professional and candid manner” and will ultimately be resolved positively.
“We’re in a good spot right now,” Rubio said. “I think we have a process in place that will result in a good outcome for everyone. The president’s interest in Greenland is clear, and it’s a national security interest.”
“It’s scary and scary.”
Greenland and the leaders of Denmark, which is responsible for defending the island, have visited Germany and France in recent days in a bid to drum up support from European allies amid threats from President Donald Trump.
“What we are dealing with as a government is an external backlash and a frightened population,” Greenland Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen said at an event in Paris on Wednesday, according to Reuters.
President Trump has long argued that the United States needs control of Greenland, and in 2019 said his administration was interested in purchasing Greenland because it is essential to U.S. national security.
Houses are being built behind a floating iceberg in Nuuk, Greenland, January 23, 2026, two days after US President Donald Trump withdrew his most aggressive threat to buy Greenland.
Sean Gallup Getty Images News | Getty Images
Following a military operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on January 3, the US president has renewed his interest in acquiring the world’s largest island. President Trump’s comments sparked alarm in Greenland and Denmark, with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warning on Wednesday that the world order as we know it is over.
Opinion polls show that an overwhelming majority of Greenlanders oppose U.S. rule, while a majority support independence from Denmark.
