Danish foreign minister says Vance will host meeting on Greenland in Washington
Denmark’s foreign minister said Tuesday that U.S. Vice President JD Vance will host a meeting with him and his Greenlandic counterpart in Washington this week as tensions spiral over the Trump administration’s desire for control of Greenland.
The vast Arctic island is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark, a NATO ally of the U.S. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and his counterpart from Greenland, Vivian Motzfeldt, had been widely expected to meet on Wednesday with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, though the meeting hadn’t officially been confirmed.
Løkke Rasmussen told reporters after a meeting of the Danish parliament’s foreign policy committee on Tuesday that Vance had expressed a wish to take part and that he will host the meeting at the White House, with Rubio in attendance. Neither the White House nor Vance’s office responded immediately to emails and text messages seeking comment.
Løkke Rasmussen, a former Danish prime minister, has been foreign minister since 2022 in the government of Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
Tensions have grown between Washington, Denmark and Greenland this month as President Donald Trump and his administration push the issue and the White House considers a range of options, including military force, to acquire the vast Arctic island. Trump reiterated his argument that the U.S. needs to “take Greenland,” otherwise Russia or China would, in comments aboard Air Force One on Sunday.
He said he’d rather “make a deal” for the territory, “but one way or the other, we’re going to have Greenland.”
A bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation is headed to Copenhagen for meetings on Friday and Saturday in an attempt to show unity between the United States and Denmark.
Before that, Frederiksen plans to meet Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, along with the leader of the Faroe Islands, Denmark’s other semi-autonomous territory, in Copenhagen as part of a periodic gathering of parliamentarians from the Danish realm.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Russia and China co-operating more often and more closely in the Arctic, says NORAD commander, CBC News
Denmark: NATO discussing next steps to ensure Arctic stays safe, Rutte says
Finland: Only Greenland and Denmark can decide on their own future says Finnish President, Yle News
Greenland: Greenland’s government says it should be defended by NATO, Reuters
Iceland: NATO chief to Arctic Allies: “We’re all frontline states now,” as Iceland’s role grows, Eye on the Arctic
Norway: “We want to be Europe’s most integrated region in terms of defence”, The Independent Barents Observer
Russia: Russia claims first-ever North Pole aerial refuelling, TASS reports, Reuters
Sweden: Sweden critical of Trump’s latest push for Greenland, Radio Sweden
United States: The U.S. already has leverage in Greenland, so why is Trump escalating? Experts weigh in, Eye on the Arctic
