US, Denmark trade barbs over Greenland as NATO boosts Arctic presence

The United States and Denmark remain at odds over the future of Greenland , Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said Wednesday following a tense closed-door meeting at the White House with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The discussions, he said, were “frank but also constructive” and an opportunity to “at least challenge” the narrative presented by President Donald Trump, who has vowed to commandeer the autonomous island.

“Our perspectives continue to differ,” Rasmussen said. “The president has made his view clear. And we have a different position.”

But despite the disagreement, Rasmussen said the three governments would establish a high-level working group to “address the American security concerns” in the polar region , while “respecting the red lines of the Kingdom of Denmark.”

Greenland’s Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt, who was also in Washington for the talks with top Trump administration officials, said their cooperation “doesn’t mean we want to be owned by the United States.”

Trump, in a series of posts on Truth Social, declared that anything short of American control of Greenland would be “unacceptable,” insisting the United States must act for national security reasons. He warned that failure to do so would allow China and Russia to gain strategic leverage in the Arctic, a claim that has been refuted by European officials.

Trump went on to deride the territory’s military defenses as little more than “two dogsleds,” and urged NATO to intervene. “Nato: Tell Denmark to get them out of here, NOW!” the president wrote.

Denmark announced plans to boost its military footprint in and around Greenland on Wednesday, including aircraft, ships and soldiers, citing security tensions in the region.

Peter Viggo Jakobsen, a Danish defense analyst, told Military Times that Denmark’s actions were twofold. Copenhagen is signaling that it is willing to work on America’s security concerns, coupled with a message that Greenland would remain in Danish hands.

“The primary message is, ‘Hey, we are willing to work with you to address whatever military concerns you have around Greenland,’” Jakobsen said. “They are indicating, ‘If you want us to be more militarily present and conduct more exercises, we would be happy to do so. And we are already starting it — we did it last year, and we are willing to expand our activities this coming year.’”

At the same time, Jakobsen emphasized Denmark’s latest defense move sends a note of caution to the United States: “If you have any idea of taking over Greenland militarily, you will encounter NATO troops — not just Danish troops.”

A group of NATO allies announced this week they are dispatching troops to Greenland to participate in a Danish-led military exercise called Operation Arctic Endurance.

Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, in a post on X, wrote that several officers from the Swedish Armed Forces are arriving in Greenland on Wednesday. Germany’s defense ministry said it would deploy a 13-member team from the Bundeswehr to join European allies in a “reconnaissance mission.” Norwegian officials said two military officers would be sent to “map out” further cooperation with allies.

France also confirmed it would contribute an unspecified number of troops to the exercise.

Tanya Noury is a reporter for Military Times and Defense News, with coverage focusing on the White House and Pentagon.

丹麦外交大臣拉斯·勒克·拉斯穆森周三在白宫与副总统JD·万斯和国务卿马可·卢比奥举行了一次气氛紧张的闭门会议后表示，美国和丹麦在格陵兰岛的未来问题上仍然存在分歧。

他说，这些讨论“坦诚而富有建设性”，并且是一个“至少可以挑战”唐纳德·特朗普总统提出的说法的机会，特朗普曾誓言要接管这个自治岛屿。

拉斯穆森说：“我们的观点仍然存在分歧。总统已经明确表明了他的立场，而我们的立场则不同。”

尽管存在分歧，拉斯穆森表示，三国政府将成立一个高级别工作组，以“解决美国在极地地区的安全关切”，同时“尊重丹麦王国的红线”。

格陵兰外交部长维维安·莫茨费尔特也来到华盛顿与特朗普政府高级官员举行会谈，她说，他们的合作“并不意味着我们想被美国所控制”。

特朗普在Truth Social网站上发表了一系列帖子，宣称任何低于美国控制格陵兰岛的结果都是“不可接受的”，并坚称美国必须出于国家安全考虑采取行动。他警告说，如果美国不采取行动，中国和俄罗斯将在北极地区获得战略优势，但这一说法遭到了欧洲官员的驳斥。

特朗普随后嘲讽该地区的军事防御不过是“两辆狗拉雪橇”，并敦促北约进行干预。“北约：告诉丹麦，让他们立刻撤出这里！”总统写道。

丹麦周三宣布计划加强其在格陵兰岛及其周边地区的军事存在，包括飞机、舰船和士兵，理由是该地区的安全紧张局势。

丹麦国防分析家彼得·维戈·雅各布森告诉《军事时报》，丹麦的行动包含两层含义。哥本哈根此举既表明其愿意在安全问题上与美国合作，也传递出格陵兰岛将继续留在丹麦手中的信息。

雅各布森说：“他们传递的主要信息是，‘我们愿意与你们合作，解决你们在格陵兰岛周边存在的任何军事关切。’他们表示，‘如果你们希望我们加强军事存在并开展更多演习，我们非常乐意。而且我们已经开始这么做了——去年我们就这么做了，我们也愿意在明年扩大我们的活动。’”

与此同时，雅各布森强调，丹麦最新的国防举措向美国发出警告：“如果你有任何企图以武力占领格陵兰岛的想法，你将遇到北约军队——而不仅仅是丹麦军队。”

本周，一群北约盟国宣布，他们将向格陵兰岛派遣部队，参加由丹麦领导的名为“北极耐力行动”的军事演习。

瑞典首相乌尔夫·克里斯特松在X网站上发文称，瑞典武装部队的多名军官将于周三抵达格陵兰岛。德国国防部表示，将派遣一支由13名联邦国防军成员组成的队伍，与欧洲盟国共同执行“侦察任务”。挪威官员表示，将派遣两名军官“规划”与盟国的进一步合作。

法国也证实将向此次演习派遣数量不详的部队。

Tanya Noury 是《军事时报》和《防务新闻》的记者，她的报道主要集中在白宫和五角大楼。