US, Greenlandic, and Danish officials completed high‑stakes Washington talks on Wednesday still at odds over Greenland, without a breakthrough in sight. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio pressed for greater US influence over the strategic Arctic territory, while Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt stood firm on sovereignty and self‑determination. Both sides agreed to form a working group to continue discussions, but Rasmussen described the meeting as a “fundamental disagreement” that leaves core questions unresolved.
The meeting, lasting around an hour at the White House, brought long‑running tensions over the Arctic back into focus. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said Greenland is essential to US national security and that anything less than acquisition of the Arctic island was “unacceptable”. The meeting itself though was without the president and was led by Mr Vance and Mr Rubio.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Ms Motzfeldt emphasised that any attempt to alter Greenland’s status was unacceptable, insisting that decisions must respect the territory’s autonomy within the Kingdom of Denmark. Not only politicians are rankled by US designs to the autonomous territory: polling suggests most Greenlanders – some 85 per cent – are against joining the US, but favour continued ties with Denmark and NATO.
No breakthrough yet
Mr Rasmussen framed the outcome as a stalemate. “We still have a fundamental disagreement,” he said, adding that US acquisition or control of Greenland was “absolutely not necessary for Arctic security”, Mr Trump’s well publicised view notwithstanding.
Ideas that would not respect the territorial of the Kingdom of Denmark and the right of self-determination of the Greenlandic people are of course totally unacceptable. – Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen
Despite the impasse, both sides agreed to form a high‑level working group to explore ways to address US security concerns while respecting Greenlandic and Danish red lines. Mr Rasmussen said the group, to be put together in the coming weeks, would focus on addressing strategic concerns, including activity by Russia and China in the Arctic, and consider how to bolster existing NATO and bilateral defence arrangements. The foreign minister also repeated there was no need for any annexation when treaties on defence had long been enough; anything else would not be met with approval.
“The security of Greenland can be ensured within the current framework — including the 1951 defence agreement and the NATO treaty. For us, ideas that would not respect the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and the right of self‑determination of the Greenlandic people are totally unacceptable,” he told reporters.
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Not easily deterred
On the US side, Trump has continued to claim Greenland as vital to national defence and NATO’s future capabilities, and Denmark has responded by increasing military cooperation and exercises in the Arctic with allied countries, including Sweden and Norway.
The broader European context adds pressure to the negotiations. France, Germany, Sweden and Norway have voiced support for Denmark and Greenland, warning that attempts to change sovereign arrangements could undermine NATO unity and international law. For now, the working group represents the main avenue for continued engagement, allowing both sides to address security concerns and Arctic cooperation without compromising core principles. Danish Foreign Minister Rasmussen described the mechanism as a pragmatic way forward after the “agree to disagree” outcome, while significant policy differences over sovereignty and control remain unresolved.
