Danish PM: Greenland dispute with U.S. persists after Washington talks

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Thursday described recent talks with the United States on Greenland as difficult, noting that Washington's ambition to take over Greenland remains unchanged despite a firm Danish rejection.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt met with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio over Greenland on Wednesday in Washington.

"There is a fundamental disagreement, because the American ambition to take over Greenland is intact," Frederiksen said. "It is obviously serious, and therefore we will continue our efforts to prevent that scenario from becoming a reality."

Frederiksen stressed that the defense and protection of Greenland is "a common concern for the entire NATO alliance."

Greenland is a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, with Copenhagen retaining control over defense and foreign policy. The United States maintains a military base on the island.

Since returning to office in 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly signaled his administration's intention to obtain Greenland and has said the use of force cannot be ruled out.

Under continued pressure from Washington, Denmark's Ministry of Defense and Greenland's autonomous government said on Wednesday that they had decided to establish "a more permanent and larger military presence" in and around Greenland, including participation by NATO allies, and described the move as "a clear response to the challenges facing the Arctic."

The European Union (EU) and NATO allies have stepped up political and military support for Greenland. Several European countries have confirmed their participation, at Denmark's invitation, in a multinational reconnaissance mission to be conducted in Greenland.

So far, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway have said they would send military assets or personnel to Greenland, though the deployments are limited in scale. Germany, for example, announced it would dispatch only a team of 13 personnel.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday that France will send extra "land, air and maritime assets" to Greenland in the coming days. Earlier in the day, Macron said France had decided to take part in joint exercises organized by Denmark in Greenland.

European analysts believe that these troop deployments carry limited practical significance, serving mainly as symbolic gestures of support for Denmark and signals of concern over Arctic security.

Tim Haesebrouck, assistant professor of international politics at Ghent University, said European countries lack the capacity to engage in direct military confrontation with the U.S., noting that at any stage of potential escalation, the balance of military power would favor Washington.

A military takeover of Greenland could be feasible for the U.S., and the real challenge lies in post-conflict administration, said Ian Lesser, a distinguished fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the U.S.

Camille Grand, former NATO assistant secretary general, said the situation once again underscored the need for Europe to reduce its security dependence on the United States. However, internal divisions within the EU, gaps in military-industrial capacity and mounting financial pressures already exacerbated by the Ukraine crisis make genuine defense independence difficult to achieve.

(With input from Xinhua)