Denmark announced on Wednesday the creation of a working group with the United States to address the «discrepancies» between the two countries over the future of Greenland, following the meeting between the Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers with US Vice President JD Vance, which did not serve to change Washington's stance.
«We have decided to form a high-level working group to explore if we can find a common path forward,» Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen declared at a press conference alongside his Greenlandic counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt.
Rasmussen noted that the group will meet for the first time «within weeks» and expects it to focus on «addressing US security concerns, while respecting Denmark's red lines.»
The meeting with JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio took place in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, part of the White House complex, amid pressure from US President Donald Trump to acquire the Arctic island, citing national security concerns.
The meeting was, according to the Danish foreign minister, «a frank but also constructive discussion,» although he stated that the positions remain opposed.
He explained that Denmark continues to believe that Greenland's security can be guaranteed «within the current framework» and said it is «totally unacceptable» any idea that does not respect the territorial integrity of Denmark and the right to self-determination of the Greenlandic people.
«Therefore, we still have fundamental discrepancies, but we also agree to disagree,» he stated.
On Wednesday, before the meeting, Trump posted on Truth Social that with Greenland in «hands» of the United States, NATO will be much more effective and added that «anything less than that is unacceptable».
Both the Prime Minister of Greenland, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, and the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, have rejected the possibility of the United States taking over the island—an autonomous territory of Denmark—either by purchase or by military force.
