Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen has warned her country faces a “decisive moment” in advance of talks in Washington on Wednesday to resolve what she called the growing “conflict over Greenland”.
In a televised debate on Sunday, she said the stakes went far beyond the Arctic island which, alongside the Faroe Islands, is one of three nations of the Danish Kingdom.
Ms Fredericksen said Denmark was “ready to defend our values – wherever it is necessary – also in the Arctic”.
“We believe in international law and in peoples’ right to self-determination,” she added on Facebook.
US president Donald Trump and Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen. Photographs: Andrew Cabalero-Reynolds and Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images
US president Donald Trump made his third public play for Greenland in days on Sunday, telling US reporters he would take it “one way or the other”, mocking its defences as “two dog sleds”.
Mr Trump’s renewed interest has alarmed Greenlanders and Danes alike, given a forced takeover would trigger a military conflict between two Nato members.
Asked on Sunday whether he would consider pulling the US out of the Nato alliance, Mr Trump said: “It would save a lot of money. I like Nato. I just wonder whether or not, if we needed Nato, would they be there for us. I’m not sure they would.”
The war of words between Washington and Copenhagen continued over the weekend with Mr Trump’s special envoy on Greenland Jeff Landry, Republican governor of Louisiana, writing on Sunday on X: “History matters. The US defended Greenland’s sovereignty during WWII when Denmark couldn’t.
“After the war, Denmark reoccupied it – side stepping and ignoring UN protocol. This should be about hospitality, not hostility.”
[ Greenland proposes direct talks with US in attempt to resolve tensionsOpens in new window ]
That prompted a prompt, hostile response for Denmark’s US ambassador Jesper Møller Sørensen, who said that “facts matter too”.
He noted that Greenland “has been a part of the Kingdom of Denmark for centuries” and that all five parties in Greenland’s parliament united last week to say they do not wish to become part of the US.
Danish and Greenland foreign ministers, Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Vivian Motzfeldt, are due to meet the US secretary of state Marco Rubio in Washington on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, a group of US senators, including Alaska’s Republican senator Lisa Murkowski, are to visit Copenhagen soon to meet politicians from the Danish parliament’s Greenland committee.
In advance of midterm elections in November, and growing global unrest from Venezuela to Iran, Ms Murkowski wrote on X: “We have a lot to do in 2026. Taking Greenland shouldn’t be on that list.”
Aaja Chemnitz, a Greenlandic politician in the Danish Folketing parliament, described that meeting as “really good news”.
US president Donald Trump is discussing options, including military action, to take control of Greenland. Photograph: Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images
“We have seen a lot of untruths flying around in the air around Greenland and I think it is absolutely crucial that we get some truths on the table,” she told Danish broadcaster DR. “We can talk very directly with each other about these issues. There is no doubt that there can be different views on this.”
Amid US security concerns over Greenland, in particular unsubstantiated claims of Russian and Chinese boats in the region, Denmark’s European Nato allies have proposed a greater security presence in the region.
Belgian defence minister Theo Francken said Nato members should “collaborate, work together and show strength and unity” to address US security concerns.
He told Reuters a precedent and model for an Arctic sentry already existed in Nato Baltic sentry and Eastern sentry operations, in which alliance members provide drones, sensors and other technology to monitor land and sea.
Meanwhile, German foreign minister Johann Wadephul held talks in Iceland to address the “strategic challenges of the far north”.
“Security in the Arctic is becoming more and more important [and] is part of our common interest in Nato,” he said at a press conference with his Icelandic colleague Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir.
Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson has condemned “threatening rhetoric” from Mr Trump. “Sweden, the Nordic countries, the Baltic States, and several major European countries stand together with our Danish friends,” said Mr Kristersson at a weekend conference in Sweden.
He warned that a US takeover of mineral-rich Greenland would be “a violation of international law, and risks encouraging other countries to act in exactly the same way”.
The Kingdom of Denmark has controlled Greenland for three centuries. The Arctic island was a colony until 1953, achieved home rule 26 years and is now largely self-governing.
China has also called on the US to respect the rights of all nations to pursue lawful activities in the Arctic region.
A foreign ministry spokeswoman said Chinese activities in the Arctic were aimed at promoting peace, stability and sustainable development in the region. “The Arctic concerns the overall interests of the international community,” said Beijing’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning at a press conference.