Denmark announced this Wednesday (01/14/2026) the creation of a working group with the United States to address the discrepancies between both countries on the future of Greenland, after the meeting of the Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers with the American vice president, JD Vance, which did not serve to change Washington’s opinion.
“We have decided to form a high-level working group to explore whether we can find a common way forward,” said Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen at a press conference with his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt.
Rasmussen noted that the group will meet for the first time “in a matter of weeks” and hopes it will focus on “addressing American security concerns, while respecting Denmark’s red lines.”
No progress
The meeting with JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio took place in the Eisenhower Executive Building, in 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 chancellor, “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 that any idea that does not respect the territorial integrity of Denmark and the right of self-determination of the Greenlandic people is “totally unacceptable.” “So we still have fundamental disagreements, but we also agree to disagree,” he said.
This Wednesday, before the meeting, Trump expressed on the Truth Social platform that with Greenland in the “hands” of the United States, NATO will be much more effective and added that “anything less than that is unacceptable.”
Both Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen have rejected the possibility of the United States taking the island – an autonomous territory of Denmark – either through a purchase or by military force.
(mn/efe, afp)
