Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen will travel to Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, on Friday for talks with the island’s leadership, following a turbulent week sparked by US President Donald Trump’s
threats to seize the Arctic territory.
Frederiksen’s visit comes after early-morning talks in Brussels with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, where both leaders agreed that the alliance must step up efforts to improve security in the Arctic. The issue has gained urgency amid heightened geopolitical competition in the region and recent controversy surrounding Greenland.
Earlier this week, Trump appeared to walk back his rhetoric on Greenland after agreeing with Rutte in Davos on what he described as a “framework” governing future arrangements related to the Danish autonomous territory. Trump later claimed the United States had secured everything it wanted, saying the arrangement would be permanent, though details of the framework remain unclear.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen stressed on Friday that no formal or detailed agreement had been concluded between Trump and Rutte. Instead, he said, the US president was referring to a potential basis for future negotiations.
“What the president talked about after the meeting with NATO’s secretary general was a framework for a future agreement,” Rasmussen told reporters in Copenhagen. “Instead of those drastic ideas about needing to own Greenland, he now wishes to negotiate a solution.”
Rasmussen confirmed that diplomats from Denmark and the United States met in Washington on Thursday to establish a roadmap for how talks would proceed, following earlier discussions on January 14 involving Greenlandic officials, US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Negotiations are expected to begin soon but will be kept deliberately low-key, Rasmussen said. “We will not communicate when those meetings are, because what is needed now is to take the drama out of this,” he added, describing the focus as “security, security, and security.”
Frederiksen, meanwhile, said she and Rutte were aligned on the need for stronger NATO engagement in the high north. “Defence and security in the Arctic is a matter for the entire alliance,” she said in a social media post, as Rutte warned that allies must do more to deter threats from Russia and China in the region.
A source speaking to AP familiar with the matter said the Davos discussions included plans for further talks between the United States, Denmark and Greenland on updating a 1951 agreement governing U.S. military access and presence on the island.
Both Danish and Greenlandic officials have repeatedly underlined that Greenland’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are a red line and are not up for negotiation, even as they remain open to dialogue on defence and broader security cooperation.
