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Wednesday, Jan 14, 2026
Outside the box.
Denmark and Greenland Foreign Ministers to Hold High-Stakes Talks with U.S. Officials at White House
Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Vivian Motzfeldt will meet Vice President Vance and Secretary Rubio amid rising tensions over U.S. interest in Greenland
Denmark’s foreign minister and Greenland’s foreign minister will travel to Washington this week for talks at the White House with U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as diplomatic tensions escalate over the future of the strategically vital Arctic island.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland’s Vivian Motzfeldt confirmed the meeting will be hosted by Vance on Wednesday, marking a rare high-level discussion between the autonomous territory, its sovereign state and the United States amid renewed U.S. assertions regarding Greenland’s status and security.
The meeting aims to provide a direct forum for all parties to address recent assertive comments by U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump, about American interest in Greenland, which is a self-governing territory under the Kingdom of Denmark.
Rasmussen told reporters in Copenhagen that the objective of the talks is to “move this whole discussion into a meeting room where we can look each other in the eye and talk about these things,” underscoring the importance of face-to-face diplomacy at a moment of heightened public rhetoric.
United States officials agreed to the meeting at Denmark and Greenland’s request, with Vance electing to host alongside Rubio.
The diplomatic outreach follows a tense period in which the White House has reiterated that Greenland is of critical strategic interest to the United States, with discussions even touching on military and security considerations related to Arctic defence.
Earlier comments by Trump and administration envoys have alarmed Copenhagen and Nuuk, prompting both governments to insist on Greenland’s right to self-determination and its choice to remain part of the Danish realm.
Greenland’s leaders have publicly reaffirmed their preference for continued association with Denmark, emphasising that Greenland is “not for sale” and its future should be decided by its people.
In addition to the White House talks, Denmark’s defence minister said that he and Motzfeldt will meet with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte later this month to discuss security around Greenland and the broader Arctic region.
These multilayered diplomatic engagements reflect growing concerns among European and Arctic partners about the potential implications of U.S. interest for NATO cohesion, alliance unity and regional stability.
As the negotiations at the White House unfold, all sides are expected to navigate sensitive questions about sovereignty, defence cooperation and mutual strategic interests in the increasingly important Arctic theatre.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland’s Vivian Motzfeldt confirmed the meeting will be hosted by Vance on Wednesday, marking a rare high-level discussion between the autonomous territory, its sovereign state and the United States amid renewed U.S. assertions regarding Greenland’s status and security.
The meeting aims to provide a direct forum for all parties to address recent assertive comments by U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump, about American interest in Greenland, which is a self-governing territory under the Kingdom of Denmark.
Rasmussen told reporters in Copenhagen that the objective of the talks is to “move this whole discussion into a meeting room where we can look each other in the eye and talk about these things,” underscoring the importance of face-to-face diplomacy at a moment of heightened public rhetoric.
United States officials agreed to the meeting at Denmark and Greenland’s request, with Vance electing to host alongside Rubio.
The diplomatic outreach follows a tense period in which the White House has reiterated that Greenland is of critical strategic interest to the United States, with discussions even touching on military and security considerations related to Arctic defence.
Earlier comments by Trump and administration envoys have alarmed Copenhagen and Nuuk, prompting both governments to insist on Greenland’s right to self-determination and its choice to remain part of the Danish realm.
Greenland’s leaders have publicly reaffirmed their preference for continued association with Denmark, emphasising that Greenland is “not for sale” and its future should be decided by its people.
In addition to the White House talks, Denmark’s defence minister said that he and Motzfeldt will meet with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte later this month to discuss security around Greenland and the broader Arctic region.
These multilayered diplomatic engagements reflect growing concerns among European and Arctic partners about the potential implications of U.S. interest for NATO cohesion, alliance unity and regional stability.
As the negotiations at the White House unfold, all sides are expected to navigate sensitive questions about sovereignty, defence cooperation and mutual strategic interests in the increasingly important Arctic theatre.
