Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen says the meeting with the Trump administration failed to change the US position.
Published on January 14, 2026
The foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland have traveled to Washington, DC to meet with members of President Donald Trump’s administration in the United States.
But on Wednesday, officials appeared to have made little progress in dissuading Trump from annexing the self-governing Danish territory of Greenland.
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“We have not been able to change America’s position,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen told reporters after the meeting. “It’s clear the president wants to win over Greenland.”
Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt, hoped that their meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance would ease rising tensions over Greenland’s future.
But the meeting failed to resolve the main differences. Instead, officials announced their intention to establish a working group to address concerns about control over Greenland and security in the Arctic region.
“In our view, this group should focus on how to address American security concerns, while at the same time respecting Denmark’s red lines,” Rasmussen said.
Motzfeld, meanwhile, called on the US to cooperate but said her position did not mean the country wanted to be “owned by the United States”.
A social media account representing Greenland’s government representation in the US and Canada emphasized the need for an indigenous – or marginalized – voice in any matter related to the island.
“Kalalit, why don’t you ask us? Last time in a poll only 6% of Greenlanders/Kalalit were in favor of becoming part of the US,” the account read. Post on x.
European allies have offered to boost security cooperation with the US in the Arctic, where the Trump administration says China and Russia pose a threat to Western interests.
But that offer did nothing to dispel Trump’s insistence that the US would “own” the region, despite growing alarm bells from the region’s governments and European allies.
On Wednesday, Trump reiterated his position that the US needs to own Greenland for “national security” during an Oval Office ceremony to sign legislation on the use of domestic milk.
The president also questioned whether Denmark would be able to repel any potential invasion.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday that Greenland, along with Denmark, is very important to national security.
“And the problem is that if Russia or China wants to occupy Greenland, Denmark can’t do anything about it, but that’s all we can do.”
He added that he had “very good relations with Denmark” and would be briefed on Wednesday’s meeting after his Oval Office appearance.
The United States already has a military presence in Greenland and may expand it further under the terms of existing agreements.
“They have a base there at the moment; about 150 personnel there. But the Danes and the Greenlandic government are willing to discuss increasing the US military presence there,” Al Jazeera correspondent Alan Fisher said.
“But Donald Trump says that, unless it is under US control, anything is unacceptable, and he wants the US to go to Greenland as soon as possible.”