Denmark and Greenland’s leaders said Thursday that Greenland’s sovereignty is non-negotiable after Donald Trump abruptly walked back tariff threats and spoke about a future Arctic security framework involving NATO’s chief, Mark Rutte.
Trump told Fox Business that he had agreed with Rutte on the framework of a future Arctic security deal and said the U.S. would have “total access” to Greenland. He also said he wanted “all the military access we want,” remarks that drew immediate emphasis from Danish and Greenlandic officials on the limits of any discussions involving sovereignty.
NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said that Rutte did not propose any “compromise to sovereignty” during his meeting with Trump. Hart said negotiations between Denmark, Greenland and the U.S. would go forward aimed at ensuring Russia and China never gain a foothold in Greenland economically or militarily.
The episode followed a sudden shift in U.S. posture. Trump, who had argued that the U.S. needed Greenland to counter threats from Russia and China, on Wednesday scrapped tariffs he had threatened to impose on eight European nations. The tariffs had been threatened as a way to press for U.S. control over Greenland.
Hours earlier, Trump had insisted he wanted Greenland “including right, title and ownership,” while also saying he would not use force. On Thursday, Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said he had been given no concrete details about the agreement Trump referenced. “I don’t know what there is in the agreement, or the deal about my country,” Nielsen told reporters in Greenland’s capital, Nuuk.
Trump described the proposal as a “framework of a future deal” that, if completed, would also allow the U.S. to install an element of his “Golden Dome” missile defense system in Greenland. Denmark and Greenland’s responses emphasized that any dialogue must respect Greenland’s territorial integrity and that sovereignty cannot be treated as negotiable.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Arctic security is a matter for all of NATO and that it was “good and natural” that it be discussed between the U.S. president and Rutte. In a statement, Frederiksen said she had spoken with Rutte “on an ongoing basis,” including before and after he met Trump in Davos. She wrote that “we cannot negotiate on our sovereignty” and said she had been informed that this had not been the case.
Frederiksen said Denmark wants to continue constructive dialogue with allies on strengthening Arctic security, including the Golden Dome program, “provided that this is done with respect for our territorial integrity.” She said Denmark has already indicated that the U.S., which has a military presence in Greenland, can boost its bases there, noting that the U.S. is party to a 1951 treaty granting broad rights to set up military bases in Greenland with Denmark and Greenland consent.
Danish officials also said NATO does not have a mandate to negotiate a deal on behalf of Denmark and Greenland. Nielsen said Rutte delivered the message that Greenland is willing to do more and host a NATO mission.
Nielsen said he had been expecting a more orderly process after the earlier uncertainty. “Until yesterday, we couldn’t rule out anything,” he said. He added that “Respectful dialogue through the right channels” was what Greenland had been seeking and that he felt this was the intention from other parties. He pointed to a working group agreed by the Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers with U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which was set up last week before Trump’s tariff threat.
On the question of whether any U.S. sovereignty over parts of Greenland might be possible, Nielsen said: “we are ready to negotiate a better partnership and so on, but sovereignty is a red line.”
Outside official circles, some people in Copenhagen expressed skepticism about Trump’s change in tone. Louise Pedersen, 22, said she had a hard time believing it and called it “terrifying that we stand here in 2026,” adding that it is for Greenlanders to decide what happens with their land, “not Donald Trump.” Poul Bjoern Strand, 70, said: “I don’t really trust anything Mr. Trump is saying.”
Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz, one of the European leaders whose countries had faced Trump’s tariff threats, said Europe must do more to secure the Arctic region. Merz said Germany would protect Denmark, Greenland and the north from what he described as Russia’s threat and said Europe would uphold principles including sovereignty and territorial integrity. Merz also said he supports talks between Denmark, Greenland and the United States based on those principles, welcoming Trump’s remarks.
Frederiksen traveled to the United Kingdom on Thursday for talks with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Starmer said the “hard yards” of bolstering Arctic security can begin and credited Trump’s “pragmatism” for withdrawing his tariff threats.