Denmark says it has "agreed to disagree" with the United States over the future of Greenland after a meeting with top White House officials, but repeated that a US takeover of the territory is "totally unacceptable".
US Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Rasmussen and Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt in Washington on Wednesday, local time.
The meeting was sparked by President Donald Trump renewing his claim that the US "needs" total control of the island to counter Russian and Chinese aggression and hinting he could take it by force.
After the meeting, Mr Trump doubled down again.
"Greenland is very important for the national security, including of Denmark," he told reporters in the Oval Office.
"And the problem is 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."
Earlier in the day, Mr Rasmussen said Denmark shared Mr Trump's concerns that there was a changing security environment in the Arctic and wanted to work with the US to counter threats.
"The big difference is whether that must lead to a situation where the US acquires Greenland, and that is absolutely not necessary," he said.
"We have decided to form a high-level working group to explore if we can 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."
Sweden, France and Norway have begun sending armed forces to Greenland at Denmark's request.
Denmark is also increasing its presence and will send additional aircraft, ships and soldiers to the island as part of an ongoing effort to strengthen NATO's presence in the Arctic.
Germany will also send 13 soldiers this week as part of a reconnaissance mission to explore increasing security in the region, but will only stay a few days, according to Reuters.
US must respect Denmark's 'territorial integrity'
Mr Rasmussen said the meeting was "frank" and "constructive" but reiterated that Denmark and Greenland want no change to the current framework.
"For us, ideas that would not respect the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark … are of course totally unacceptable."
He also countered Mr Trump's claims that the territory was under imminent threat from Chinese warships.
"According to our intelligence, we haven't had a Chinese warship in Greenland for a decade or so."
Greenland's Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt said the US and the Danish territory were "allies" and "friends" and needed to strengthen their cooperation.
"But that doesn't mean that we want to be owned by the United States," she said.
Mr Rasmussen would not say if the meeting led to any sort of compromise, saying it was not the "proper place to elaborate".
"The whole idea and the reason why we asked for this meeting was to turn public debate in a very black and white setting, into a discussion where there's room for nuances."
Greenland, the world's largest island, is a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, which is a member of NATO. It has a population of about 57,000 people, and roughly 80 per cent of the island is ice.
Its location between Russia and North America makes it extremely strategically important to the US.
On his Truth Social platform earlier today, Mr Trump said Greenland was vital to America's national security and that "without the vast power of the United States … NATO would not be an effective force or deterrent" to Russia and China.
Speaking after a signing ceremony in the Oval Office, Mr Trump said he had not yet been briefed on the meeting.
He did not answer a question about whether he would leave NATO, instead saying Denmark would be defenceless in the face of an attack from Russia or China without the US.
Mr Rubio and Mr Vance are yet to comment on the meeting.
Greenlanders react to meeting
Some Greenlanders say they're relieved the meeting did not descend into a fighting match.
"We have this concern that it could be a kind of [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy meeting," said Nuuk resident Peter Jensen, referencing a heated, live-broadcast meeting between the Ukrainian leader, Mr Trump and Mr Vance last year.
"So I'm happy that it was a meeting without press because it would have escalated what the Americans want to have."
His son Inuk Jensen said that, despite the US continuing to assert it must have Greenland, the meeting showed signs of progress.
"It's been a relief to watch the press conference. Of course, I'm still worried that the US will take over because the president wants to get what he wants. But it's been more of a relief that they've been settled down and talked about it thoroughly."
His mother Liv Jensen said she had been surprised at the ongoing aggressive rhetoric from the US about her homeland.
"The Americans used to be the good guys; they helped us, but now they all of a sudden are our enemy, and that is a shock."
With Reuters
