Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said talks with the Trump administration “did not change” the U.S. position.
Published January 14, 2026
The foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland traveled to Washington DC to meet with members of US President Donald Trump’s administration.
But on Wednesday, officials emerged saying they had made little progress in dissuading President Trump from taking over the autonomous Danish territory of Greenland.
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“We were unable to change the US position,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told reporters after the meeting. “It’s clear that the president has a desire to conquer Greenland.”
Rasmussen and Greenland’s Vivian Motzfeldt had hoped that the meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President J.D. Vance would ease rising tensions over Greenland’s fate.
However, the meeting failed to address major disagreements. Instead, officials announced their intention to establish a working group to continue to address concerns about Greenland’s control and security in the Arctic region.
“In our view, this group should focus on how to address U.S. security concerns while respecting the red lines of the Kingdom of Denmark,” Rasmussen said.
Motzfeld, meanwhile, called for cooperation with the United States, but said his position did not mean he wanted the country to become “owned by the United States.”
Social media accounts representing Greenland’s government representatives in the United States and Canada also emphasized the need for indigenous (Kalaalit) voices in all issues concerning the island.
“Kalaalit, why don’t you ask us? Last time a poll was taken, only 6% of Greenlanders/Kalaalit were in favor of becoming part of the United States,” the account wrote in a post to X.
European allies have offered to expand security cooperation with the United States in the Arctic, and the Trump administration says China and Russia pose a threat to Western interests.
But despite growing alarm from the territorial government and its European allies, these offers did nothing to blunt President Trump’s claims that the United States “owns” the territory.
On Wednesday, during a ceremony in the Oval Office to sign legislation on domestic milk consumption, President Trump reiterated his position that the United States needs to own Greenland for “national security” purposes.
The president also questioned whether Denmark would be able to repel an invasion if it were to occur.
“Greenland is extremely important to our national security, including Denmark,” President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday.
“And the problem is, if Russia or China wants to take over Greenland, there is nothing Denmark can do, but there is everything we can do.”
He added that he has “very good relations with Denmark” and would be briefed on Wednesday’s meeting after attending the Oval Office.
The United States already has a military presence in Greenland and could expand it further under the terms of existing treaties.
“They currently have a base there and about 150 personnel there. But the Danes and the Greenlandic government are open to discussing expanding the US military presence there,” Al Jazeera correspondent Alan Fisher said.
“But Donald Trump has said he won’t accept anything less unless it’s under U.S. control, and he wants the U.S. to move into Greenland as soon as possible.”
