The foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland will meet with US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House on Wednesday, amid heightened diplomatic tensions following repeated statements by the president Donald Trump on a possible takeover of the Arctic island.
The head of Danish diplomacy, Lars Løkke Rasmussenand her Greenlandic counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt, had requested the meeting after Donald Trump recently revived his comments about Greenland being an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. The American president had already raised this idea in 2019, during his first term, sparking strong opposition at the time, including within his own political party.
According to Lars Løkke Rasmussen, the meeting will be held at the White House at the initiative of the US Vice President. The Danish minister explained that he wanted to continue the discussions "in a meeting room where we can look each other in the eye" in order to directly address sensitive issues related to sovereignty and security in the Arctic.
Although Denmark ruled Greenland for centuries, the island has been on a gradual path towards autonomy and then independence since 1979. This objective is now shared by all parties represented in the Greenlandic parliament, even though Copenhagen currently retains key powers, particularly in matters of defense and foreign policy.
Meanwhile, Denmark is seeking to mobilize its allies. The Danish Minister of Defence, Troels Lund Poulsenannounced that he would participate next week in a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to discuss Arctic security, alongside the Greenlandic Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Copenhagen also plans to strengthen its military presence in Greenland, with other NATO countries participating in exercises and training in 2026. The Danish government says it wants to draw more attention from the Atlantic Alliance to the growing strategic importance of the Arctic, a region that has become central to international geopolitical rivalries.
