U.S., Greenland and Denmark set for talks amid Trump takeover threats

The Trump administration is poised for crunch talks with Greenlandic and Danish officials on Wednesday, amid the U.S. president’s ongoing push to take control of Greenland.

Greenland Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt and her Danish counterpart, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, are expected to convene at the White House for talks with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The high-stakes meeting comes shortly after Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen portrayed a united front against Trump’s repeated takeover threats.

Speaking at a joint press conference in Copenhagen on Tuesday, Greenland’s Nielsen said that if the self-governing Danish territory must choose between the U.S. and Denmark, “we choose Denmark.”

Frederiksen also said it had not been easy to stand up to what she described as “completely unacceptable pressure” from our closest ally. “But there is much to suggest that the hardest part is still ahead of us.”

Trump, who has long coveted making Greenland a part of the United States, renewed his interest in the vast and mineral-rich Arctic island following an audacious U.S. military operation in Venezuela on Jan. 3.

The U.S. president has said that the island, which is strategically situated between Europe and North America, is vital “from the standpoint of national security.”

Speaking to reporters on board Air Force One in recent days, Trump said the U.S. would take control of Greenland “one way or the other,” even if it strains the relationship within the NATO military alliance.

Trump’s comments have raised alarm in Denmark, which is responsible for the defense of Greenland, with Frederiksen cautioning that a U.S. attack would mark the end of NATO.

Ian Lesser, distinguished fellow at GMF, a Washington-based think tank, said the stakes were “very high” for the talks, warning that failure to resolve the diplomatic crisis “does not just threaten NATO cohesion, it threatens the future existence of the Alliance as we know it.”

The meeting will likely seek to clarify the prospects for and potential contours of a negotiated settlement of the crisis, Lesser said.

“There could be new European commitments to strengthening the defence of Greenland, and more important, the surrounding maritime space. There might also be parallel talks around new and preferential US access to Greenland’s resources,” Lesser told CNBC by email.

“Or, the meeting could end in acrimony,” he added.

The prospect of a public fallout between U.S. and European officials at the White House brings to mind a highly contentious meeting between Trump, Vance, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February last year.

Trump and Vance accused Zelenskyy of a lack of respect as the meeting veered sharply off track, devolving into an extraordinary shouting match live on camera.

Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden, said he does not expect the U.S., Greenland, and Denmark to be able to find a diplomatic solution on Wednesday, describing the situation as “a profound crisis.”

“I think there was a significant change, I think it was yesterday, when it was announced in Washington that JD Vance, the vice president, was going to take over the meeting,” Bildt told CNBC’s “Europe Early Edition” on Wednesday.

“It was scheduled to be with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has indicated a slightly milder approach, but JD Vance has, of course, been directly insulting towards Denmark and demanding very strange things,” Bildt said.

“I expect a fairly hard meeting. I don’t expect any resolution. At best, I expect that they will initiate the process of talks of some sort,” he added.

Bildt, who serves as co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank, referred to JD Vance’s remarks at the Munich Security Conference in February last year, saying his “rather extraordinary” analysis of Europe was more in line with the “extreme right” of the region.

“This is not the trans-Atlantic alliance we used to have,” he added.

Otto Svendsen, associate fellow with the Europe, Russia and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank, said tensions between Greenland and Denmark have been set aside to present a united front against U.S. threats.

The White House meeting, Svendsen said, will provide further clues as to how committed the entire Trump administration is to acquiring Greenland — and how deterred the administration is to threats of a complete breakdown in bilateral relations.

“A good outcome for the Danes and Greenlanders would be a statement that affirms Greenland’s sovereignty and position within the Kingdom. Anything short of that leaves the door open to continued threats and coercion,” Svendsen told CNBC by email.

“In return, the Danish and Greenlandic delegation will likely offer plans to revisit economic and security arrangements among the three countries, such as more favorable access for U.S. companies to the Greenlandic mining sector and additional Danish investments in Arctic security,” he added.

Several European leaders rallied in support of Greenland last week, saying security in the Arctic must be achieved collectively.

“Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland,” the leaders said. The letter was signed by French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as well as the leaders of Italy, Spain and Poland.