Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen speaks during a press conference in Nuuk, Greenland, January 22, 2026.
Marco Julica | Reuters
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen said at a press conference on Thursday that he did not know the contents of the “framework” agreement announced by President Donald Trump after his meeting with NATO leaders the day before.
But Nielsen stressed that no deal on Greenland can be reached without a say from Greenland and its ruling kingdom, Denmark.
Any such agreement must respect “red lines that should not be crossed”, including Greenland’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, he added.
“We choose the Kingdom of Denmark. We choose the EU. We choose NATO,” Nielsen told reporters in Nuuk, Greenland. “This is not just a situation for Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark, but a global order issue for all of us.”
The remarks echoed earlier statements by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who insisted that Greenland’s sovereignty was non-negotiable.
Nielsen’s comments came a day after Trump, who has been aggressively pressuring Europe for weeks over the proposed U.S. takeover of Greenland, suddenly announced he had worked out a “framework for a future agreement” with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
The announcement, made in a Truth Social post after a closed-door meeting in Davos, Switzerland, did not provide further details. In an interview with CNBC, President Trump called it “the concept of a deal” and said “we’ll explain it eventually.”
But the deal appears to have been enough to cancel future tariffs imposed on eight European countries defending Greenland, with President Trump at his sword.
President Trump suggested to CNBC that the framework would also include U.S. mineral rights and the Trump administration’s proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense system.
Meanwhile, the New York Times reported Wednesday that some NATO officials were separately discussing a possible compromise in which the United States would gain sovereignty over “a small patch of Greenland for military bases.”
Nielsen flatly rejected the proposal on Thursday, but repeatedly pointed out that he had not been informed of what the Trump-Rutte framework would mean.
“I don’t know the specifics of that agreement,” he said. “But I know there is currently a high-level working group working on a solution for both sides.”
Nielsen said there are “some red lines” that cannot be crossed. “We must respect territorial integrity. We must respect international law and sovereignty.”
“Our integrity, our borders, and international law are definitely red lines that we don’t want anyone to cross,” he added later in the press conference. “And I don’t think that’s strange at all.”
Nielsen said he believed those red lines, recently communicated to Rutte by Danish and Greenlandic officials, were then “passed on” to Trump.
But “nothing has happened on mineral resources or other agreements,” he said.
Greenland is willing to negotiate with the United States on economic and other issues, he added, but “that is something that has to be discussed from a standpoint of mutual respect.”
Nielsen also directly criticized the Trump administration’s invasion of Greenland, including the recent escalation of tensions that included the possibility of U.S. military action until Wednesday.
“Make no mistake, the rhetoric we heard last year is unacceptable to us,” he said, adding that it is difficult to maintain a respectful dialogue when Greenlanders “hear threats about takeovers and takeovers every night.”
“Imagine what it feels like as a Greenlander, as a people here, as a peaceful people of Greenland, to see and hear in the media every day that someone is trying to take away your freedom.”
