Danish minister warns Greenland crisis still unresolved despite talks

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said on Thursday that a “constructive” meeting had taken place with high-ranking US officials to resolve the dispute over Greenland, and that further meetings are planned.

However, Rasmussen told Danish media that “the situation has not been resolved.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that Denmark, Greenland and the United States had launched a process aimed at reaching agreement in the standoff over the Arctic territory.

He was optimistic after the talks, telling the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: “I think we’re going to get there.”

President Donald Trump’s aggressive push at the start of the year for the US to take control of Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory belonging to Denmark, raised the extraordinary prospect of the US attacking a NATO ally to acquire territory.

Greenland, Denmark and their European allies strongly opposed Trump’s takeover ambitions.

On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump then backed down, saying he was no longer seeking a military solution to the Greenland crisis.

Trump also said in Davos that a “framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland” had been reached during a meeting with NATO chief Mark Rutte, although little has been revealed about what the agreement could entail.