WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� A top Danish official said Wednesday that a 鈥渇undamental disagreement鈥� over remains with after holding highly anticipated White House talks with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The two sides, however, agreed to create a working group to discuss ways to work through differences as Trump continues to call for of Denmark.
鈥淭he 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,鈥� Danish Foreign Minister Lars L酶kke Rasmussen told reporters after joining Greenland鈥檚 foreign minister, Vivian Motzfeldt, for the talks. He added that it remains “clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland.鈥�
Trump is trying to make the case that NATO should help the U.S. acquire the world’s largest island and says anything less than it being under American control is unacceptable.
, meanwhile, announced plans to boost the country’s military presence in the Arctic and North Atlantic as Trump tries to justify his calls for a U.S. takeover of the vast territory by repeatedly claiming that China and Russia have their designs on Greenland, which holds vast untapped reserves of critical minerals.
The president, who did not take part in Wednesday鈥檚 meeting, told reporters he remained committed to acquiring the territory.
鈥淲e need Greenland for national security,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淲e鈥檒l see how it all works out. I think something will work out.鈥�
Trump named as a to Greenland last month. Landry did not attend Wednesday’s meeting, but was scheduled to travel to Washington on Thursday and Friday for , his spokesperson said.
Landry, following Trump’s latest comments, posted on X that Trump was 鈥渁bsolutely right鈥� about acquiring Greenland and the territory “is a critical component of our nation鈥檚 national security portfolio.鈥�
Before the meeting, Trump took to social media to make the case that 鈥淣ATO should be leading the way” for the U.S. to acquire the territory. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has sought to keep an arms-length away from the dispute between the most important power and the other members of the 32-country alliance unnerved by the aggressive tack Trump has taken toward Denmark.
Both L酶kke Rasmussen and Motzfeldt offered measured hope that the talks were beginning a conversation that would lead to Trump dropping his demand and create a path for tighter cooperation with the U.S.
“We have shown where our limits are and from there, I think that it will be very good to look forward,鈥� Motzfeldt said.
Denmark bolstering presence in Arctic
In Copenhagen, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen announced a stepped-up military presence in the Arctic 鈥渋n close cooperation with our allies,” a necessity in a security environment in which 鈥渘o one can predict what will happen tomorrow.鈥�
Several of the country’s allies, including Germany, France, Norway and Sweden, announced they were arriving in Greenland along with Danish personnel to take part in joint exercises or map out further military cooperation in the Arctic.
NATO is also looking at how members can collectively bolster the alliance’s presence in the Arctic, said a NATO official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Greenlanders want the US to back off
Greenland is strategically important because, as climate change causes the ice to melt, it opens up the possibility of shorter trade routes to Asia. That also could make it easier to extract and transport which are needed for computers and phones.
Trump says Greenland is also 鈥渧ital鈥� to the United States’ . He also has said Russia and China pose a threat in the region.
But , and it has become a hot topic on the snow-covered main street in Greenland鈥檚 capital, where international journalists and camera crews have descended as Trump continues his takeover talk.
In interviews, Greenlanders said the outcome of the Washington talks didn’t exactly evince confidence that Trump can be persuaded.
鈥淭rump is unpredictable,鈥� said Geng Lastein, who immigrated to Greenland 18 years ago from the Philippines.
Maya Martinsen, 21, said she doesn’t buy Trump’s arguments that Greenland needs to be controlled by the U.S. for the sake maintaining a security edge in Arctic over China and Russia. Instead, Martinsen said, Trump is after the plentiful 鈥渙ils and minerals that we have that are untouched.鈥�
Greenland 鈥渉as beautiful nature and lovely people,” Martinsen added. “It鈥檚 just home to me. I think the Americans just see some kind of business trade.鈥�
Denmark has said the U.S., which already has a military presence, can boost its bases on Greenland. The U.S. is party to a 1951 treaty that gives it broad rights to set up military bases there with the consent of Denmark and Greenland.
Bipartisan concern from U.S. senators
L酶kke Rasmussen and Motzfeldt also met with a bipartisan group senators from the Arctic Caucus. The senators said they were concerned Trump’s push to acquire Greenland could upend NATO and play into the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who has introduced legislation to try to block any U.S. action in Greenland, said it was 鈥渟tunning鈥� to her that they were even discussing the matter. 鈥淲e are operating in times where we are having conversations about things that we never even thought possible,鈥� Murkowski said.
Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said it is 鈥渘onsense鈥� to say that the U.S. needs to control Greenland to protect national security. The officials were 鈥渧ery open to additional national security assets in Greenland in order to meet whatever risks there are.鈥�
A bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers plans to show their solidarity by traveling to Copenhagen this week.
___
Burrows reported from Nuuk, Greenland and Ciobanu from Warsaw, Poland. Associated Press writers Stefanie Dazio and Geir Moulson in Berlin, Mary Clare Jalonick, Lisa Mascaro, Aamer Madhani and Will Weissert in Washington, Sara Cline and Jack Brook in Baton Rouge, La., and Catherine Gaschka in Paris contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
