Denmark and Greenland say sovereignty is non-negotiable after Trump’s meeting with Rutte

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The leaders of Denmark and Greenland insisted Thursday that the island’s sovereignty is non-negotiable after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had agreed with the NATO secretary-general on the framework of a future Arctic security agreement that Trump said would give the United States “full access” to the territory.

Much about the potential deal remains unclear, although Trump said in an interview with Fox Business: “We will have full access to Greenland,” a semi-autonomous region of Denmark, a NATO ally. He added: “We will get all the military capabilities we want.”

He watches: Trump is backing down on his threats against Greenland, but allies say the damage is done

NATO spokeswoman Alison Hart said NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte had not proposed any “sovereignty compromise” in discussions with Trump.

Trump, who has repeatedly said the U.S. needs Greenland to counter Russian and Chinese threats, on Wednesday abruptly canceled tariffs he had threatened to impose on eight European countries to push for U.S. control of Greenland. It was a dramatic reversal hours after he insisted he wanted the island “including right, title and ownership” – although he also said he would not use force.

Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens Fredrik Nielsen expressed cautious relief, but said he did not know specific details of the agreement mentioned by Trump.

He told reporters: “I do not know what the content of the agreement is, or the agreement related to my country.”

Trump described it as a “framework for a future agreement” that, if completed, would allow the United States to install an element of “Gold Dome,” part of a multibillion-dollar missile defense system, in Greenland.

Denmark and Greenland insist on sovereignty

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that security in the Arctic is a matter for the entire NATO, and it is “good and normal” for it to be discussed between the US President and Rota. She said in a statement that she spoke with Rutte “on an ongoing basis,” including before and after his meeting with Trump in Davos.

“We cannot negotiate our sovereignty,” she wrote, adding: “I was informed that this was not the case.”

Frederiksen said Denmark wants to continue engaging in constructive dialogue with allies on how to strengthen security in the Arctic, including the Golden Dome programme, “provided this is done while respecting our territorial integrity.”

Denmark said the United States, which already has a military presence in Greenland, could strengthen its bases there. The United States is already a party to a 1951 treaty that gives it broad rights to establish military bases there with the approval of Denmark and Greenland.

Hart, the NATO spokesman, said Rutte “did not propose any concessions on sovereignty during his meeting with President Trump.” She said negotiations between Denmark, Greenland and the United States “will move forward with the aim of ensuring that Russia and China do not gain a foothold – economically or militarily – in Greenland.”

Danish officials have pointed out that NATO, however, does not have a mandate to negotiate a deal on behalf of Denmark and Greenland.

Nielsen, Greenland’s leader, said Rutte had delivered a message that Greenland was willing to do more and host a NATO mission.

“Until yesterday we could not rule anything out,” he told reporters in the island’s capital, Nuuk. “Respectful dialogue through the right channels is what we have been seeking from the beginning, and I also feel that is the intention of the other parties now, and I am happy about that.”

He referred to a working group that the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland, US Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio agreed to form last week, before Trump threatened to impose tariffs. Denmark and the White House at the time offered differing public views on its purpose.

Asked whether US sovereignty over small pockets of Greenland might be a possibility, Nielsen said, “We are prepared to negotiate a better partnership and so on, but sovereignty is a red line.”

Doubts about Trump’s transformation

On the streets of Copenhagen, some were skeptical about Trump’s transformation.

“I think the guy said a lot of things and did a lot of things different from what he says,” said Louise Pedersen, 22, who works at a startup. “I find that hard to believe. I think it’s terrifying that we’re standing here in 2026.”

She said it was up to the people of Greenland to decide what would happen to their land, “not Donald Trump.”

“I don’t really trust anything Mr. Trump says,” said Paul Bjorn Strand, 70, who works in advertising.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, one of the European countries that faced Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on Greenland, stressed the need for European allies in NATO to make more efforts to secure the Arctic region.

“We will protect Denmark, Greenland and the North from the threat posed by Russia,” he said at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland. He added, “We will adhere to the principles on which the transatlantic partnership is based, which are sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

“We support talks between Denmark, Greenland and the United States on the basis of these principles” with the aim of closer cooperation, Merz said. “It’s good news that we’re taking steps in this right direction. I welcome President Trump’s comments last night – this is the right way to go.”

Frederiksen traveled to the UK on Thursday for talks with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who said “difficult steps” to strengthen Arctic security could begin, and credited Trump’s “pragmatism” in withdrawing his threats to impose tariffs.

Molson reported from Berlin and Burroughs from Nuuk, Greenland. Aamer Madhani in Washington, Lorne Cook in Brussels and Pan Bilas in London contributed to this report.