US, Denmark and Greenland meet but… White House talks collapse after 1 hour

The United States, Denmark and Greenland met to discuss the issue of Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, but failed to find common ground.

According to Reuters on the 14th (local time), US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio held about an hour of talks on the Greenland issue with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt.

Both sides exchanged views on President Donald Trump’s preferred approach for the US to secure Greenland, but failed to reach an agreement. However, they did agree to set up a working-level consultative body to narrow their differences.

After the meeting, Minister Rasmussen candidly acknowledged at the Danish Embassy in Washington, saying, “We failed to change the US position,” adding, “There are still fundamental differences (with the United States).”

While saying Denmark must address US security concerns, Rasmussen also stressed that the US should respect Denmark’s “red line”—the principle that sovereignty over Greenland cannot be transferred. Minister Motzfeldt said, “It is important to strengthen cooperation with the United States,” but added, “That does not mean we want to be owned by the United States.”

Afterward, President Trump said at the White House, “We’ll see what happens, but we need it (Greenland),” adding, “I think some kind of solution will emerge.” He also underscored that he is not the first US president to seek to secure Greenland in the interest of shared security between the US and Europe.

Working-level officials from both sides agreed to schedule their first meeting within the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, Trump ramped up pressure just ahead of the talks. He said, “We need Greenland for national security purposes,” stressing in particular that it is essential to building the “Golden Dome,” the US next-generation missile defense shield. He also claimed that if the US does not secure Greenland, Russia or China will take it, adding, “That will never happen.”

Denmark and Greenland pushed back strongly. Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen brushed aside Trump’s annexation drive, saying, “We would choose to remain with Denmark rather than become part of the United States.”

By Lee Song-ryeol, Hankyung.com yisr0203@hankyung.com