As reported by Greenland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Vivian Motzfeldt during a joint press conference on YouTube

Greenland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vivian Motzfeldt, stated that Greenland has finally begun direct diplomatic dialogue with the United States, something the country had been aiming to achieve for several months. She emphasized that the state of the negotiation process is now “much better” than a month ago. She announced this information during a joint press conference of the Greenlandic, Canadian, and Danish foreign ministers, dedicated to Arctic security, defense, and relations with the United States and NATO.

“Looking back at where we stand today. The high-level working group meeting has already begun, and that’s good, and the talks in this room are respectful negotiations, but we are not yet where we want to be. There will be a long road ahead. So where we end up in the end is too early to say”

– Motzfeldt

The Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen called the opening of Canada’s consulate in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, a “kind of new beginning,” noting that this is a wonderful opportunity to strengthen existing cooperation.

“We share a common position on many issues: not only regarding sovereignty and the Greenlandic people’s right to self-determination, but also in a broader sense, when we work together in the UN, NATO and other organizations, where we must uphold a world order in which force is not a right. And as the Canadian prime minister stated very clearly in Davos, middle powers must unite and work together”

– Lars Løkke Rasmussen

Canada’s Foreign Minister Anita Anand emphasized that diplomatic work in Greenland would align with the interests of many Canadians, as well as people of Greenlandic and Danish descent. She also expressed hope for further development of interpersonal ties, particularly between “the inhabitants of the North and the Inuit”.

“We just met with a group of business representatives to discuss their contribution to developing port and airport infrastructure, as well as air transport, to strengthen ties between Canada, Greenland, and Denmark. We will also continue to focus on economic ties between our countries, as well as on the security and defense of the Arctic, and we will always choose cooperation and engagement in this direction”

– Anand

What is known about Trump’s statements on Greenland

At the end of 2024, Donald Trump stated that control over Greenland is an “absolute necessity” for U.S. national security. Greenland’s Prime Minister Múte Egede responded that the island is not for sale.

On January 7, 2025, Trump suggested applying military or economic pressure to establish control over Greenland and the Panama Canal, and publicly called for the “annexation” of the island to the United States, calling it inevitable. In subsequent interviews he explained his interest in Greenland on defense grounds. In light of Trump’s statements, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen expressed concern and called the U.S. rhetoric toward an ally unacceptable, and urged an end to threats of annexation. She also stated that if the U.S. were to invade Greenland, that would mean the end of NATO.

There was also an international reaction: Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Poland, Italy, Spain, and Denmark issued a joint statement stressing that security in the region must be provided collectively within NATO. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen on January 14, 2026 stated that Denmark had allocated additional funds for arms to defend Greenland if needed. On January 14, 2026 France decided to deploy a small military unit in Greenland, coordinating this with several NATO countries. Swedish, Norwegian, and German troops also arrived on the island to participate in the preparation of multinational exercises under Denmark’s aegis.

On January 17, 2026, Trump announced the introduction of a 10% tariff on goods from European countries that supported Greenland, effective February 1, with an intention to raise them to 25% from June 1, but the implementation of this initiative was avoided. At the same time, over the next two days a group of German troops and two Dutch officers left Greenland.

On January 21, during a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump asserted that the United States would not use force to gain control of the island. On January 29, Bloomberg reported that the United States, Denmark, and Greenland had begun talks on a new framework agreement on cooperation around the Arctic island.

Greenland is the world’s largest island and an autonomous Danish territory with large reserves of minerals and oil, as well as strategic facilities, including American ones.

“an absolute necessity”

– Donald Trump

“not for sale”

– Múte Egede

“annexation”

– Donald Trump