Denmark and Greenland’s envoys to Washington have begun a vigorous effort to urge U.S. lawmakers as well as key Trump administration officials to step back from President Donald Trump’s call for a “takeover” of the strategic Arctic island.
Denmark’s Ambassador, Jesper Møller Sørensen, and Jacob Isbosethsen, Greenland’s chief representative to Washington, met on Thursday (January 8, 2026) with White House National Security Council officials to discuss a renewed push by Mr. Trump to acquire Greenland, perhaps by military force, according to Danish government officials who were not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment about the meeting.
The envoys have also held a series of meetings this week with American lawmakers as they look to enlist help in persuading Mr. Trump to back off his threat.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to meet next week with Danish officials.
Mr. Trump, in a New York Times interview published on Thursday, said he has to possess the entirety of Greenland instead of just exercising a long-standing treaty that gives the United States wide latitude to use Greenland for military posts.
“I think that ownership gives you a thing that you can’t do with, you’re talking about a lease or a treaty. Ownership gives you things and elements that you can’t get from just signing a document,” Mr. Trump told the newspaper.
The U.S. is party to a 1951 treaty that gives it broad rights to set up military bases there with the consent of Denmark and Greenland.
Meanwhile, Mr. Trump’s Vice-President, J.D. Vance, told reporters that European leaders should “take the President of the United States seriously” as he framed the issue as one of defence.
“What we’re asking our European friends to do is take the security of that landmass more seriously, because if they’re not, the United States is going to have to do something about it,” Mr. Vance said.
Danish officials were hopeful about the upcoming talks with Mr. Rubio in Washington.
“This is the dialogue that is needed, as requested by the government together with the Greenlandic government,” Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told Danish broadcaster DR.
The island of Greenland, 80% of which lies above the Arctic Circle, is home to about 56,000 mostly Inuit people.
Vance criticises Denmark
Mr. Vance said on Wednesday that Denmark “obviously” had not done a proper job in securing Greenland and that Mr. Trump “is willing to go as far as he has to” to defend American interests in the Arctic.
In an interview with Fox News, Mr. Vance repeated Mr. Trump’s claim that Greenland is crucial to both the U.S. and the world’s national security because “the entire missile defence infrastructure is partially dependent on Greenland.”
He said the fact that Denmark has been a faithful military ally of the U.S. during World War II and the more recent “war on terrorism” did not necessarily mean they were doing enough to secure Greenland today.
“Just because you did something smart 25 years ago doesn’t mean you can’t do something dumb now,” Mr. Vance said, adding that Mr. Trump “is saying very clearly, you are not doing a good job with respect to Greenland.’”
Right to self-determination
Earlier, Mr. Rubio told a select group of U.S. lawmakers that it was the Republican administration’s intention to eventually purchase Greenland, as opposed to using military force.
“Many Greenlanders feel that the remarks made are disrespectful,” Aaja Chemnitz, one of the two Greenlandic politicians in the Danish parliament, told The Associated Press. “Many also experience that these conversations are being discussed over their heads. We have a firm saying in Greenland, Nothing about Greenland, without Greenland.’”
She said most Greenlanders “wish for more self-determination, including independence” but also want to “strengthen cooperation with our partners” in security and business development as long as it is based on “mutual respect and recognition of our right to self-determination.”
Ms. Chemnitz denied a claim by Mr. Trump that Greenland is “covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place.”
Greenland is “a long-standing ally and partner to the U.S. and we have a shared interest in stability, security, and responsible cooperation in the Arctic,” she said.
“There is an agreement with the U.S. that gives them access to have bases in Greenland if needed.”
France’s President Emmanuel Macron has denounced the “law of the strongest” that is making people “wonder if Greenland will be invaded.”
In a speech to French ambassadors at the Elysee presidential palace on Thursday, Mr. Macron said: “It’s the greatest disorder, the law of the strongest, and everyday people wonder whether Greenland will be invaded, whether Canada will be under the threat of becoming the 51st state [of the United States] or whether Taiwan is to be further circled.”
He pointed to an “increasingly dysfunctional” world where great powers, including the U.S. and China, have “a real temptation to divide the world amongst themselves.”
The United States is “gradually turning away from some of its allies and freeing itself from the international rules,” Mr. Macron said. (
Published – January 09, 2026 07:34 am IST
