Washington, Jan 16 (.) The White House on Thursday said President Donald Trump remains keen on the United States acquiring Greenland, describing the move as essential for “best national security” and to prevent Russia and China from doing so.
Speaking to reporters, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “The President has made his priority quite clear. He wants the United States to acquire Greenland. He thinks it is in our best national security to do that.”
Her remarks came after officials from the United States, Denmark and Greenland held direct talks on President Trump’s stated ambition to take control of Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory under Danish sovereignty.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said discussions held in Washington on Wednesday with his Greenlandic counterpart, US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio ended without resolving key differences. “A fundamental disagreement” remains, he said, adding that “we didn’t manage to change the American position,” though he noted this outcome was not unexpected.
Despite the differences, Rasmussen said Denmark, Greenland and the United States agreed to set up a high-level working group “to explore if we can find a common way forward.” He added that the group is expected to hold its first meeting “within a matter of weeks.”
According to Rasmussen, the group’s focus will be on addressing US security concerns while safeguarding Denmark’s “red lines.” Denmark and the United States are both members of NATO.
Meanwhile, Denmark and several European allies have announced plans to deploy troops to Greenland, signalling a stronger push to reinforce security on the strategically important Arctic island.
The White House described the meeting between Vice President JD Vance and Danish officials as “productive,” even as President Trump continues to press for the acquisition of Greenland.
Reiterating the administration’s position, Leavitt said Trump “has made his priority” clear, maintaining that he believes “it’s in our best national security (interests) to do that.”
She further said, “In that meeting, the two sides agreed to really establish a working group of individuals who will continue to have technical talks on the acquisition of Greenland. Those talks will take place, I’m told, every two to three weeks.”
“This is a conversation the administration intends to keep having with the Danes and with the respected delegation from Greenland,” Leavitt added.
However, Danish officials offered a sharply different assessment following the talks.
“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, of course, totally unacceptable,” Rasmussen said at a joint press conference with Greenland’s Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt.
He reiterated that “fundamental disagreement” remains after what he described as “frank” discussions with US officials.
“We didn’t manage to change American position. It’s clear that the president (Donald Trump) has this wish of conquering over Greenland,” Rasmussen said. “We made it very, very clear that it is not in the interest of the kingdom (of Denmark).”
He also stressed that it was “absolutely not necessary” for the United States to acquire Greenland, adding there was no “instant threat” from Russia or China.
US interest in Greenland is due to its strategic Arctic location, abundant mineral resources, and concerns in Washington over increased Russian and Chinese activity in the region.
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