Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said he was “more optimistic” about his country’s relations with US President Donald Trump on Thursday after talks aimed at resolving their dispute over Greenland began in Washington.
Trump sparked consternation earlier this month by threatening to annex the mineral-rich island, which is an autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark – before abruptly ending the speculation of US military action by announcing that he had arrived at a “framework” deal on Greenland with NATO chief Mark Rutte in Switzerland last week.
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As per AFP, Rasmussen told reporters in Brussel’s that “the very first meeting at senior official level” took place in Washington on Wednesday, and that further meetings are planned. “It’s not that things are solved, but it’s good,” he said.
“There was a major detour. Things were escalating, but now we are back on track,” Rasmussen added. “I’m slightly more optimistic today than a week ago.”
The meeting certainly appears to have gone better than Rasmussen’s Jan. 14 visit to the White House, at the peak of Trump’s escalating rhetoric – when he, along with Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance.
Footage of Rasmussen and Motzfeldt lighting up cigarettes outside the White House in the immediate aftermath of that meeting quickly went viral. Diplomatically, Rasmussen said only that “a fundamental disagreement” remained between the two countries.
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Details of the “framework” deal that ended Trump’s threats to impose tariffs on US allies opposed to his annexation of Greenland remain thin on the ground. As neither Denmark nor Greenland appear interested in forgoing their sovereignty, it’s unclear what concessions to greater US influence they could make aside from a greater presence of NATO troops on the island.
Also on Thursday, Danish monarch King Frederik X said that he would visit Greenland in an attempt to boost the population’s morale.
“I sense that they are worried, and for me it’s a pleasure to go and meet them,” Frederik told press, as per Reuters.
Although Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen has said that the island would choose Denmark over the US, Trump’s dismissal of Greenland’s right to self-determination has sparked renewed debate within the autonomous territory about its place in the world.