White House calls Greenland talks 'productive' despite Danish pushback

The White House says a meeting between Vice President JD Vance and Danish officials over Greenland was "productive."

Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said both sides agreed to set up a working group for technical talks every two to three weeks.

Leavitt added that President Donald Trump considers Greenland a priority, saying acquiring the island is in the U.S.'s national security interest.

But Danish officials sharply disagreed. Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and Greenland's Vivian Motzfeldt said any plan that ignores Greenland's self-rule is "totally unacceptable."

Rasmussen called the U.S. position a "fundamental disagreement" and said there is no immediate threat from Russia or China.

Greenland, a self-governing part of Denmark, has drawn U.S. interest for its strategic location and mineral resources.

Denmark and Greenland continue to reject any sale, insisting the island remains under Danish sovereignty.

European countries have sent small numbers of military personnel to Greenland on Thursday (15 January) as Denmark said it was pressing on with plans for a "larger and more permanent" NATO presence to secure the island coveted by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The modest European deployments, meant to help Denmark prepare military exercises, sent a strong message of support a day after a meeting of officials from the U.S., Denmark and Greenland failed to reach any breakthrough on the impasse.

After that meeting, Trump repeated his assertion that Denmark could not be relied upon to protect its autonomous territory, Greenland, if Russia or China ever wanted to occupy it.

Trump says the strategically located and mineral-rich island is vital to U.S. security and has not ruled out the use of force to take it. 

Greenland and Denmark say it is not for sale and that threats of force are reckless.

• Denmark, U.S. clash over Greenland in frank White House talks
• Greenlanders urge diplomacy ahead of talks with U.S. over Trump takeover threats

Denmark's defence minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, told journalists in Copenhagen on Thursday he did not have a final figure for the envisaged expanded NATO presence in Greenland.

"But it is clear that we now will be able to plan for a larger and more permanent presence throughout 2026 and that is crucial to show that security in the Arctic is not only for the Kingdom of Denmark, it is for all of NATO."

The White House said on Thursday and warned sending European troops to Greenland would not affect Trump's thinking about the territory.

"I don't think troops in Europe impact the president's decision-making process, nor does it impact his goal of the acquisition of Greenland at all," spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told a briefing.

Russia said on Thursday NATO's talk of Moscow and Beijing being a threat to Greenland was a myth designed to whip up hysteria and warned of the dangers of escalating confrontation in the region.

Any attempt to ignore Russia's interests in the Arctic would not go unanswered, a foreign ministry spokeswoman later said.

There is currently little evidence that a large number of Chinese and Russian ships sail near Greenland's coasts accordingn to officials.

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