Trump insists US needs Greenland as talks with Denmark fail to resolve takeover dispute

Donald Trump has doubled down on demands that the United States must control Greenland, claiming Denmark cannot defend the Arctic island against Russia or China, even as Wednesday’s high-stakes diplomatic meeting exposed deep rifts over the territory’s future, according to a Guardian report.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office after talks between American, Danish and Greenlandic officials, Trump said Greenland holds critical importance for national security.

Denmark cannot do anything if Russia or China attempts to occupy the island, but America can, he told reporters, citing last week’s events in Venezuela as evidence of US capabilities.

The Danish foreign minister painted a starkly different picture of the discussions, saying Trump remains determined to seize Greenland despite talks that failed to bridge what he called a fundamental disagreement straining relations between Washington and a NATO ally.

Lars Løkke Rasmussen said late Wednesday there was no need for the United States to take Greenland, a largely self-governing part of the Danish realm.

American officials did not shift their position during the meeting, he said, adding that Trump clearly wants to conquer Greenland and Danish representatives made clear this goes against the kingdom’s interests.

Rasmussen called on Washington to pursue respectful cooperation over the Arctic island, which Copenhagen controls.

France, Germany and Norway have offered to deploy troops to a Danish-led multinational force that would boost military presence in and around Greenland with aircraft, vessels and soldiers from NATO allies, according to a Danish defence ministry statement—a show of European solidarity with Denmark.

The two sides agreed to establish a working group to address their differences as Trump continues pushing for American takeover of the semi-autonomous territory belonging to NATO ally Denmark.

The group should focus on addressing American security concerns whilst respecting Denmark’s red lines, Rasmussen told reporters after joining Greenland’s foreign minister Vivian Motzfeldt for the talks, which lasted nearly an hour in Washington.

Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland on Wednesday in what some observers feared could pressure the Danes into surrendering the territory under American economic and military coercion.

Earlier Wednesday, Trump declared it would be unacceptable for Greenland to remain in the hands of any country besides the United States, restating his takeover demand hours before the crucial talks.

America needs Greenland for national security purposes, and NATO should help secure it, the president wrote on social media, claiming the alliance would become far more formidable with the territory under US control.

Trump called Greenland vital for what he termed the Golden Dome, a proposed missile defence system.

Expert assessments suggest an American takeover could cost up to $700 billion (£520 billion), according to US media reports, whilst European officials have dismissed the prospect of a direct American military assault to seize the island.

As the meeting unfolded, Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said his country would establish a more permanent and larger military presence in Greenland, calling it highly hypothetical that America would attack to take the territory.

The White House maintained its social media campaign against its NATO ally during talks, posting an image of two dogsleds heading toward either the US or Russia and China, captioned “Which way, Greenland man?” Trump had previously mocked Denmark’s territorial defence as consisting of two dogsleds.

Trump first floated the Greenland takeover idea in 2019 during his initial presidency but has sharply escalated his rhetoric since returning to the White House last year, saying America would acquire it one way or another.

He has rattled the EU and NATO by refusing to rule out military force to capture the strategically important, mineral-rich island, which benefits from many protections the two organisations provide because Denmark belongs to both.

Rasmussen and Motzfeldt initially requested talks with Rubio, but the meeting shifted to the White House after Vance asked to attend and then host the discussions.

Greenland and Denmark have repeatedly noted that a 1951 bilateral agreement already permits the United States to substantially expand its military presence on the island.

Several EU leaders have rallied behind Denmark, pledging support for its territorial integrity and self-determination rights. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday that the island belongs to its people.

Greenlanders know through actions, not just words, that Europe respects their wishes and interests and that they can rely on European support, she said in Brussels.

French President Emmanuel Macron warned that any threat to an EU country’s sovereignty would trigger unprecedented consequences. France would act in full solidarity with Denmark and its sovereignty, he said.

Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen told a joint news conference with Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen on Tuesday that the island would not be owned or governed by Washington.

If forced to choose between the US and Denmark now, Greenland picks Denmark, NATO and the EU, Nielsen said, adding that the territory’s goal remains peaceful dialogue focused on cooperation.

Frederiksen said standing up to completely unacceptable pressure from Denmark’s closest ally had not been easy, but the reality remains that borders cannot be changed by force and small countries should not fear large ones.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll released Wednesday found just 17% of Americans support Trump’s efforts to take Greenland, with substantial majorities of both Democrats and Republicans opposing military force to annex the island.

Only 4%—including one in 10 Republicans and almost no Democrats—called military force a good idea.

(information from The Guardian)