China-Greenland: Trump is lying, warns Danish minister

“There are no Chinese warships along the coast of Greenland.” But Trump insists on annexation.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen has repeatedly stated that there is no immediate threat to Greenland from China, contradicting one of US President Donald Trump’s main concerns.

“There are no Chinese warships off the coast of Greenland (…) There are not even massive Chinese investments in Greenland,” Rasmussen told the press in Washington.

Rasmussen admitted, however, that “share, to a certain extent”, the concerns of Donald Trump in relation to a “new security situation in the Arctic and the far north“.

The minister’s statements were made at a press conference in the North American capital, after the meeting he held, together with his Greenland counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt, with the vice-president of the United States, JD Vance, and with the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, on the future of Greenland.

Although the minister classified the meeting as “frank and very constructive”, it was clear that the divisions yet persist and that little progress has been made in resolving the fundamental disagreement: Washington’s attempt to take control of Greenland and turn it into a North American territory.

Faced with these differences, Denmark announced the creation of a working group to address “discrepancies” about Greenland’s future.

“We decided to form a high-level working group to explore whether we can find a common path forward,” Rasmussen said.

The official noted that the group is expected to meet for the first time “in a matter of weeks” and expects the focus to be “addressing US security concerns while respecting Denmark’s red lines”.

Denmark believes that the Greenland’s security can be guaranteed “within the current framework”, with the Danish minister stating that any idea that does not respect the territorial integrity of his country and the right of the Greenlandic people to self-determination is “totally unacceptable”.

“Therefore, We continue to have fundamental disagreements, but we also agree to disagree“, he stated.

The official added that Denmark wants to “work closely” with the United States, but stressed that this collaboration must be conducted with respect.

“It’s not easy to think of innovative solutions when you wake up every morning with new threats”, he lamented.

In turn, Motzfeldt, who maintained the same tone as Rasmussen, stated that “it has never been more important” to emphasize that Denmark and Greenland are allies of the United States and defended the search for a “fair balance” in this relationship.

Trump insists

Hours after this meeting, Donald Trump insisted on annexing Greenland: “We’ll see what happens with Greenland. We need Greenland for national securityso we’ll see what happens.”

The US president emphasized that his Government has “a very good relationship” with Copenhagen.

However, Trump reiterated his position that the island should be under US control because, “otherwise Russia and China will enter“.

“And a Denmark won’t be able to do anything about it, but we can do everything“, he added.

Donald Trump refused to specify told the press what he was willing to do to acquire Arctic territory, but admitted that I wouldn’t “give up any option”.

“I’m not going to say what I’m willing to do,” he declared, adding: “I’m certainly not going to rule out any option, but Greenland is very important for national security, including Denmark’s.”

The President confirmed that he had spoken with NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, who told him that he “really wants to see something happen”.