White House meeting fails to resolve U.S.-Denmark dispute over Greenland

A high-level meeting at the White House on Wednesday yielded no breakthrough in the standoff between President Trump and Denmark over Greenland, Denmark’s foreign minister said, as several NATO countries announced plans to send troops to the territory. Speaking after a sit-down with Vice President J.D.

Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Denmark’s foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said a "fundamental disagreement" remained and that "we didn’t manage to change the American position." The White House meeting followed public posts by Mr. Trump saying the United States "needs Greenland for the purpose of National Security" and that "anything less than that is unacceptable," and he has said he might use military force to acquire the island.

Mr. Rasmussen said American ownership was "absolutely not necessary" for Greenland’s defense. Denmark’s defense ministry announced extra military exercises on the island involving "aircraft, vessels and soldiers" from Denmark and its NATO allies, and Germany, France and Sweden said they would contribute.

Swedish officers arrived in Greenland and 13 German reconnaissance soldiers were due to arrive for a three-day visit, deployments Denmark said were related to a Danish-led exercise called Operation Arctic Endurance.

Key Topics

World, Greenland, Donald Trump, Denmark, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Operation Arctic Endurance