Denmark Beefs Up Military Presence in Greenland Amid ‘Fundamental Disagreement’ With U.S.

Denmark’s foreign minister said on Wednesday that a “fundamental disagreement” with U.S. President Donald Trump over the future of Greenland remained unresolved after high-level talks in Washington, even as Denmark and NATO allies moved to increase their military presence in the Arctic territory amid rising tensions.

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Speaking at a press conference after meeting with U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Denmark’s foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen described the discussions as “frank but also constructive,” but made clear that Denmark and Greenland firmly reject the Trump Administration’s continued efforts to control the semiautonomous island. 

“The President has made his view clear, and we have a different position,” Rasmussen said. “Ideas that would not respect the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and the right of self-determination of the Greenlandic people are totally unacceptable.”

The high-profile meeting came as Denmark and its NATO partners are taking visible steps to reinforce their presence in Greenland. In Copenhagen, Denmark’s defense minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, announced that Denmark would increase military activity in and around Greenland, citing an increasingly unpredictable security environment. Rasmussen told reporters in Washington that Denmark was reinforcing security in the Arctic “by committing additional funds for military capabilities—not dogsleds, but ships, drones, fighter jets, etc.”

Several European NATO allies confirmed that they were also sending personnel to the island. Sweden’s prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, said that officers from the Swedish Armed Forces had arrived in Greenland to prepare for activities connected to a Danish military exercise, Operation Arctic Endurance. Norway said it would send two military personnel to explore further cooperation with allies.

Germany’s Defense Ministry said it was dispatching a reconnaissance team of 13 military personnel to Greenland for an exploration mission from January 15 to 17. The goal, the ministry said, was to assess possible contributions to regional security, including maritime surveillance.

The moves underscore growing concern in Europe that Trump’s rhetoric risks destabilizing relations within NATO.

“We are definitely ready to do more,” Rasmussen added.

Rasmussen was joined in the discussions with the White House by Greenland’s foreign minister Vivian Motzfeldt, who said that while Greenland was open to strengthening cooperation with the United States on security, that did not mean it was interested in being owned by Washington.

“We have shown where our limits are,” Motzfeldt said. “It is in everyone’s interest to find the right path—but that path does not include ownership.”

The meeting in Washington was requested by officials from Greenland and Denmark amid an escalating dispute fueled by Trump’s repeated insistence that the United States must acquire Greenland “one way or another” for national security reasons. Greenland is a semiautonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, which retains responsibility for the island’s defense and foreign policy.

In recent days, Trump has argued that NATO should support a U.S. takeover of the island, warning that anything short of American control would leave Greenland vulnerable to China or Russia.

“NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the United States,” Trump wrote on social media hours before the talks. “Anything less than that is unacceptable.”

Read more: Americans Don’t Want Greenland. Trump Is Convinced He Can Change That

Denmark and Greenland, both part of the NATO alliance, strongly dispute that claim. “According to our intelligence, we haven’t had a Chinese warship in Greenland for a decade or so,” Rasmussen said at the press conference. “There is not an instant threat from China or Russia that we cannot accommodate.”

Rasmussen said Denmark believed Greenland’s long-term security could be ensured “inside the current framework,” noting that the United States already maintains a military presence on the island under a 1951 defense agreement that allows Washington to establish and expand bases with the consent of Danish and Greenlandic authorities.

“The U.S. has already wide military access to Greenland,” Rasmussen said. “We wish to hear if the U.S. had any further request to make in this aspect. We would examine any such request constructively.”

Despite the sharp disagreement, the two sides agreed to establish a high-level working group to explore whether some of Trump’s stated security concerns could be addressed without crossing what Denmark calls its “red lines.”

“The group, in our view, should focus on how to address the American security concerns, while at the same time respecting the red lines of the Kingdom of Denmark,” Rasmussen said. The group is expected to hold its first meeting within weeks.

Asked about his suggestion to acquire Greenland by force, Trump told reporters on Wednesday, “I never said that.”

“I can’t rely on Denmark being able to fend themselves off,” he added. “They were talking about they would put an extra dog–and they were serious about this– they put an extra dog sled there last month, they added a second dog sled. That’s not going to do the trick.”

Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said on Tuesday that if Greenland were forced to choose, “we choose Denmark. We choose NATO. We choose the Kingdom of Denmark. We choose the EU.” Trump responded by saying he did not know Nielsen and that his position would be “a big problem for him.”

Greenland’s strategic importance has increased as climate change melts Arctic ice, opening shorter shipping routes to Asia and raising interest in the island’s untapped reserves of critical minerals used in advanced technologies. Trump has also described Greenland as vital to his proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense system.