Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen has ruled out selling the island to the U.S. at upcoming crunch talks in Washington. Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen are set to meet with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House on Wednesday to discuss President Donald Trump’s threats to take over the island. Asked Tuesday if those discussions could see Greenland agreeing to a purchase offer from the U.S., Nielsen said: “The mere talk of being able to buy another people is disrespectful.” Trump has repeatedly voiced his desire to buy the self-ruling Danish territory, calling it a strategic imperative, and has not ruled out using other methods, including military action, if Greenland and Denmark refuse to make a deal. “It’s easier,” Trump said Sunday, referring to buying the island. “But one way or the other, we’re going to have Greenland.” Nielsen made the remarks during a joint press conference with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in Copenhagen and added that Greenlanders “choose Denmark,” vowing to stick together with the Danes. “We enter the room together,” he said. “We go out together, and we talk to the Americans together.” Frederiksen said “It has not been easy to stand up to completely unacceptable pressure from our closest allies for a lifetime. But there is much to suggest that the hardest part is still ahead of us.”

The organizers of a traditional dog sled race in Greenland said they are investigating who sent an invitation to U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the island. The Greenland Dog Sledding Association (KNQK) published a statement on social media Tuesday saying an American journalist had informed them that Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry had been invited to its annual race. The association said it was “unacceptable that political pressure is being exerted from outside” and described “the participation of foreign political actors” as “wholly inappropriate,” adding it was conducting an “investigation” to find out who invited Landry. Trump last month appointed Landry, a Republican who has been in office since early 2024, to lead his efforts to take control of Greenland. Landry called the “volunteer position” an “honor” in a post on social media and said he would work to “make Greenland a part of the U.S.” Vice President JD Vance’s wife Usha was supposed to attend the dog sled race last year during an American tour of the island but canceled her participation after protests in the self-ruling Danish territory. Trump, who has claimed that controlling Greenland is a strategic imperative for the U.S. and Arctic security, recently mocked Copenhagen’s efforts to shore up the island’s defenses. “You know what their defense is? Two dog sleds,” he scoffed, apparently referencing Greenland’s dog sled patrols.

BRUSSELS — Nothing to see here. That was the message from NATO chief Mark Rutte on Monday, just days after U.S. President Donald Trump doubled down on his threats to take Greenland by force — a move that Denmark cautioned would spell the end of the transatlantic military alliance. NATO is “not at all” in crisis, Rutte told reporters during a visit to Zagreb, brushing off the standoff and saying: “I think we are really working in the right direction.” Trump on Friday warned the U.S. “may” have to choose between seizing Greenland and keeping NATO intact, marking the latest escalation of his long-running campaign to grab the giant Arctic island. Controlling Greenland is “what I feel is psychologically needed,” he added. The U.S. president’s bellicose rhetoric has put the alliance on the brink of an existential crisis, with the prospect of a military attack against an alliance member jolting NATO into largely uncharted waters.  EU defense chief Andrius Kubilius on Monday echoed those concerns. Any military takeover would be “the end of NATO,” he said, and have a “very deep negative impact … on our transatlantic relations.” Alongside its oil and critical mineral deposits, Trump has previously cited swarms of Russian and Chinese vessels near Greenland as driving the U.S.’s need to control the island.  Experts and intelligence reports largely dismiss those claims. But Rutte said there was “a risk that Russians and the Chinese will be more active” regionally.  “All allies agree on the importance of the Arctic and Arctic security,” he said, “and currently we are discussing … how to make sure that we give practical follow-up on those discussions.” On Wednesday, NATO countries asked the alliance to look into options for securing the Arctic, including shifting more military assets to the region and holding more military exercises in Greenland’s vicinity. The U.K. and Germany are reportedly in talks to send troops to the self-ruling Danish territory in an attempt to assuage Washington’s concerns. Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen on Monday also said the territory “increase its efforts to ensure that the defense of Greenland takes place under the auspices of NATO.” Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, speaking alongside Rutte, said that “allies have to respect each other, including the U.S. as the largest NATO member.” But Rutte also heaped praise on the U.S. president, underscoring the near-impossible tightrope he continues to tread as he attempts to speak for all 32 members of the alliance. “Donald Trump is doing the right things for NATO by encouraging us all to spend more to equalize this,” he said, referencing the alliance’s defense spending target of 5 percent of GDP, agreed last year after intense pressure from Trump. “As [NATO] secretary-general, it is my role to make sure that the whole of the alliance is as secure and safe as possible,” he said. NATO has previously survived the 1974 Turkish invasion of Greek-allied Cyprus, a series of naval confrontations between the U.K. and Iceland over cod and several territorial disputes in the Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey climaxing in 1987. But an outright attack by its biggest and most well-armed member against another would be unprecedented.  “No provision [in the alliance’s 1949 founding treaty] envisions an attack on one NATO ally by another one,” said one NATO diplomat, who was granted anonymity to speak freely. It would mean “the end of the alliance,” they added.

Nordic governments are rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump’s assertions that Russian and Chinese vessels are operating near Greenland, warning that the claims are not supported by intelligence and are fueling destabilizing rhetoric, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. Two senior Nordic diplomats with access to NATO intelligence briefings told the FT there is no evidence of Russian or Chinese ships or submarines operating around Greenland in recent years, directly contradicting Trump’s justification for U.S. control of the Arctic territory. “I have seen the intelligence. There are no ships, no submarines,” one diplomat told the paper. Trump has claimed that Greenland is “covered with Russian and Chinese ships” and argued that the U.S. must take control of the island for national security reasons — rhetoric that has intensified in recent weeks. Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide also told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that there was “very little” Russian or Chinese activity near Greenland, despite ongoing Russian submarine movements closer to Norway itself. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, meanwhile, said at an annual security conference in northern Sweden that Stockholm was “highly critical” of what the Trump administration was doing and had done in Venezuela, in regards to international law. “We are probably even more critical of the rhetoric that is being expressed against Greenland and Denmark,” Kristersson added, explaining that the rules-based international order is under greater strain than it has been in decades. Kristersson said the U.S. should recognize Denmark’s long-standing role as a loyal ally, instead of agitating about Greenland. “On the contrary, the United States should thank Denmark,” he said. Leaders of all five parties in Greenland’s parliament reiterated that stance late Friday, saying in a joint statement: “We do not want to be Americans, we do not want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders.”

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday cast fresh doubt on NATO’s reliability, saying he was not convinced the alliance would come to Washington’s aid in a crisis, as tensions rose over the White House’s renewed push to acquire Greenland. “I DOUBT NATO WOULD BE THERE FOR US IF WE REALLY NEEDED THEM,” Trump blasted on Truth Social, while insisting the U.S. would still defend alliance members. “We will always be there for NATO, even if they won’t be there for us.” Under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, NATO’s collective defense clause, an attack on one member of the alliance is considered an attack on all. The provision has been formally invoked only once — in response to al-Qaida’s 9/11 terror attack against the U.S. Trump’s remarks came a day after the White House said it was not ruling out military action to acquire Greenland from Denmark, a NATO ally. Trump has repeatedly criticized the alliance and has long pressured members to boost defense spending, calling for increases from 2 percent of GDP to as much as 5 percent. His new comments follow days of escalating rhetoric over Greenland, a self-ruling Danish territory. The White House said late Tuesday that Trump was “discussing a range of options” to acquire the massive, mineral-rich Arctic island, stressing that the use of U.S. military force was not off the table. In his post, Trump said that military allies were failing to pay their fair share before his first term, while relying on the American security umbrella, and argued that without the U.S., Russia and China would “have zero fear of NATO.” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned Monday that an American attack on another NATO country would mean “everything stops, including NATO and thus the security that has been established since the end of the Second World War.” European leaders moved quickly to push back. On Tuesday, eight of Europe’s top leaders said Greenland’s security must be ensured collectively through NATO and with full respect for sovereignty and borders. On Wednesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Paris was working with European partners on a joint response, while officials in Berlin confirmed discussions were underway on safeguarding Greenland’s sovereignty. In his post, using an incorrect spelling for the iconic global award, Trump added: “Without my involvement, Russia would have ALL OF UKRAINE right now. Remember, also, I single-handedly ENDED 8 WARS, and Norway, a NATO Member, foolishly chose not to give me the Noble Peace Prize. But that doesn’t matter!”

PARIS — Paris is working with European allies on a joint response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to take over Greenland, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Wednesday. “Regardless of the form of intimidation and its source, we have begun work at the Quai d’Orsay to prepare ourselves to respond and not to respond alone,” Barrot told French radio France Inter. “Once this work has been completed in the coming days, [we’ll] be able to share it. Whatever form intimidation takes, we want to take action with our European partners,” Barrot said, adding that he will discuss the topic later Wednesday during a meeting with his German and Polish counterparts. In recent days, Trump has reiterated his claims to Greenland — a self-ruling Danish territory — following a separate U.S. operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro last weekend. On Tuesday, eight of Europe’s top leaders insisted Greenland’s security must be ensured collectively by NATO and with full respect to the wishes of its people. Officials in Berlin said discussions on how to practically safeguard Greenland’s sovereignty were ongoing on Wednesday following talks on the topic between European leaders and Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in Paris the day before. Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul is working on a plan with his counterparts that could include European deterrence in the event the U.S. would try to attack or seize Greenland, as well as increased NATO presence in Greenland’s direct vicinity, a German government spokesperson said. Last year, Barrot didn’t rule out sending French troops to the island but it never materialized. The French minister tried to downplay the risks of American military aggression against Greenland, saying that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured him during a phone call earlier this week that it wasn’t Washington’s preferred way forward. However, the White House said late Tuesday it was still considering “a range of options” including the use of military force. Nette Nöstlinger reported from Berlin. Carlotta Diederich contributed to this report from Berlin.

President Donald Trump is considering “a range of options” to acquire Greenland including the use of military force, the White House said Tuesday, raising the stakes just hours after several top European leaders declared that such a move would violate NATO’s core charter. Trump “has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. “The President and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the U.S. Military is always an option at the Commander in Chief’s disposal.” Following Saturday’s special forces operation to remove former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from power, Trump has repeatedly asserted his view that the U.S. has the prerogative to do whatever it deems necessary to advance its security and economic interests across the Western Hemisphere, threatening specific actions against Colombia, Cuba, Mexico and Greenland. The president’s comments about Greenland in particular have sparked panic across Scandinavia and the rest of Europe given the potential implications for a continent already scrambling to shore up its defense against Russia. A U.S. invasion of Greenland, a Danish territory, would amount to a shocking violation of NATO’s Article V, which declares an attack on any member of the 32-nation alliance an attack on all. A breach of Denmark’s territorial sovereignty by the U.S., which has been a linchpin of the organization since its founding following World War II, would effectively end the transatlantic alliance. Trump has said that acquiring Greenland, an icy land mass between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic, is a national security imperative. Denmark has communicated its openness to a heightened U.S. military presence there, but the president has appeared uninterested in anything less than a full U.S. takeover. In their statement earlier Tuesday, the leaders of Denmark, Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland declared a shared belief that “security in the Arctic must be … achieved collectively, in conjunction with NATO allies including the United States by upholding the principles of the UN Charter, including sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of borders.”

Eight of Europe’s top leaders have rallied to defend the autonomous Danish territory of Greenland amid growing threats from President Donald Trump’s administration that the U.S. could seize the mineral-rich Arctic island. In a statement, the European leaders insisted Greenland’s security must be ensured collectively by NATO and with full respect to the wishes of its people. “Security in the Arctic must be … achieved collectively, in conjunction with NATO allies including the United States by upholding the principles of the UN Charter, including sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of borders,” the leaders wrote in a statement hours after Trump said Washington “needs” Greenland. The statement was signed by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof tweeted afterward that the Netherlands “fully supports” the statement. The show of support for Denmark comes after Trump doubled down on his claims to the Danish-held territory following a U.S. operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. On Monday, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller questioned Copenhagen’s claim over the territory, but declined to clarify whether the United States could use force to achieve its aims. Trump has also accused Denmark of doing too little to ensure Greenland’s security. Trump said: “They added one more dog sled.” In response, the leaders stated: “NATO has made clear that the Arctic region is a priority and European Allies are stepping up. We and many other Allies have increased our presence, activities and investments, to keep the Arctic safe and to deter adversaries. The Kingdom of Denmark — including Greenland — is part of NATO.” “Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland,” concluded the statement, which was published as some 40 leaders and top EU officials gather in Paris for talks about how to end the Ukraine war. Fredriksen warned on Monday that a U.S. invasion of Greenland would spell the end of NATO.

European leaders moved swiftly to back Greenland on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump named a special envoy to the Arctic island, sparking a new diplomatic frenzy on the continent. Trump’s appointment of Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as his envoy to Greenland marks another move in his gambit to annex the self-governing Danish territory. The U.S. “has to have Greenland for national security,” Trump said at a press conference on Monday. Landry said he would travel to Greenland to convince locals to become part of the United States. “There is no better flag for freedom and opportunity than the flag of the United States. I look forward to sharing that message with the people of Greenland,” Landry said in a post on X. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen reacted with anger to the announcement and summoned U.S. Ambassador to Denmark Ken Howery for a dressing down. Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen called the appointment “completely unacceptable.” Trump has previously attempted to buy Greenland, but both Danish and Greenlandic politicians have repeatedly said that the mineral-rich island is not for sale. Back in January the American leader didn’t rule out taking the island by military force. Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen lamented the power games being played over the future of his Arctic homeland. “Sad, because the U.S. president once again expressed a desire to take over Greenland at a press conference last night. With such words, our country is reduced to a question of security and power. That is not how we see ourselves, and that is not how we in Greenland can or should be spoken about,” Nielsen said in a post on social media. In a new development, Greenland’s foreign minister, Vivian Motzfeldt, said on Tuesday that Howery had recently visited Nuuk but had not mentioned Trump’s plans to appoint Landry. “The Government of Greenland has not been informed that the United States would appoint a special envoy to Greenland,” Motzfeldt wrote in a press release, adding that Howery had not mentioned the plan at a meeting. “This is not an expression of trust,” she added. “In Greenland, nothing has changed. The future of our country is determined by the Greenlandic people. We are not Danes. We are not Americans, and we do not want to become one. We are Inuiaat Kalaallit, we are the Greenlandic people. Our land is ours and others will not control or own it.” Several European leaders reacted to Landry’s nomination by expressing solidarity with Greenlanders. “Greenland belongs to its people,” French President Emmanuel Macron stated in a post. “Denmark stands as its guarantor.” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen noted that territorial integrity and sovereignty were fundamental principles of international law. “We stand in full solidarity with Denmark and the people of Greenland,” she wrote on social media. Jakob Weizman contributed reporting.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said the U.S. should leave Greenland alone, reaffirming Copenhagen’s stance on President Donald Trump’s ambition to acquire the huge Arctic island. Rasmussen met Thursday with the new U.S. ambassador to Denmark, Ken Howery. According to Danish outlet TV2, their meeting lasted about an hour — longer than a typical introductory chat. Asked afterward whether he had told Howery to “keep his hands off Greenland,” Rasmussen replied: “Yes, he should, and so should the U.S. in general — and the Americans know that very well.” “First and foremost, I thought it was nice to meet the American ambassador. We’ve been waiting for him for a long time, and it’s good that he’s here. It’s important that we have a representative from Trump’s administration,” Rasmussen added. Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in acquiring Greenland — and refused to rule out using either military or economic coercion to get it — saying he needed the Arctic island for national security purposes. Denmark has maintained that Greenland is not for sale. Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, and its residents are EU citizens. A poll in January showed most Greenlanders prefer to remain with Denmark rather than join the U.S. Rasmussen served as Denmark’s prime minister from 2009 to 2011 and again from 2015 to 2019. Howery, a PayPal co-founder with Elon Musk, previously served as U.S. ambassador to Sweden during Trump’s first term.