The United States and Denmark met at the White House in Washington, D.C., to discuss the future course of Greenland, an Arctic autonomous territory of Denmark.
The meeting ran for about an hour on the morning of the 14th (local time), with U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Denmark Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt attending.
According to Reuters and other outlets, a senior Danish official said there remain "fundamental differences" over Greenland, but they agreed to form a working group to resolve them.
Minister Rasmussen told reporters, "From our perspective, the working group should focus on how to address the United States' security concerns while respecting the red lines of the Kingdom of Denmark."
Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump argued that the United States should take Greenland, citing the need to strengthen Arctic security. The "red lines" appear to refer to a transfer of sovereignty over Greenland to the United States.
Minister Motzfeldt stressed, "Greenland wants to strengthen cooperation with the United States, but does not want to become a U.S. territory."
The previous day, Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen held a joint press conference in Copenhagen with Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, saying, "We would choose to remain with Denmark rather than become part of the United States."
Even just before the talks, Prime Minister Nielsen emphasized, "Now is not the time to talk about independence," underscoring that he would not stand by in the face of President Trump's intent to annex.
However, President Trump is seen as maintaining a hard-line stance. Just before the talks, Trump wrote on his social media (SNS), "If the United States does not secure Greenland, Russia or China will take it," adding, "That will never happen."