Denmark and Greenland responded on Thursday by rejecting any suggestion that the Arctic island’s status could be up for negotiation, after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had reached an understanding with NATO’s leadership that would give the U.S. wide access to Greenland.
Trump described what he called a preliminary Arctic security arrangement, telling Fox Business that “we’re going to have total access to Greenland,” a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. He went further, saying, “we’re going to have all the military access we want.” The outline of such a deal, however, remained vague, with no detailed terms made public.
NATO pushed back on the idea that sovereignty was ever discussed. Alliance spokesperson Allison Hart said Secretary General Mark Rutte did not suggest any “compromise to sovereignty” during his talks with Trump.
READ ALSO: Trump drops Greenland tariffs after threats shake NATO and Europe
The remarks came a day after Trump abruptly dropped tariff threats against eight European countries, which he had floated as leverage in his long-running push for U.S. control over Greenland. The reversal followed comments in which he said he wanted the island “including right, title and ownership,” while also insisting he would not use force.
In Nuuk, Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said he was relieved by the change in tone but stressed that he had not been briefed on any agreement.
“‘I don’t know what there is in the agreement, or the deal about my country,” he told reporters.
Trump later characterized the discussions as a “framework of a future deal” that could allow the United States to place part of his proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense system on Greenland, a project expected to cost billions of dollars.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen acknowledged that Arctic security is a shared NATO concern and said it was appropriate for Trump and Rutte to discuss it. In a statement, she said she had been in regular contact with Rutte, including before and after his meeting with Trump in Davos.
At the same time, Frederiksen drew a clear line. “We cannot negotiate on our sovereignty,” she wrote, adding: “I have been informed that this has not been the case.”
She said Denmark remains open to constructive talks with allies on strengthening Arctic security, including discussions around the Golden Dome, “provided that this is done with respect for our territorial integrity.”
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Denmark has previously said the U.S. can expand its existing military footprint in Greenland. The two countries are already bound by a 1951 treaty that grants the U.S. wide latitude to establish bases there, subject to Danish and Greenlandic consent.
Hart reiterated that Rutte “did not propose any compromise to sovereignty during his meeting with President Trump,” and said talks among Denmark, Greenland and the United States “will go forward aimed at ensuring that Russia and China never gain a foothold – economically or militarily – in Greenland.”
Danish officials have also emphasized that NATO itself has no authority to negotiate on behalf of Denmark or Greenland.
Nielsen said Rutte had conveyed that Greenland is prepared to deepen cooperation and potentially host a NATO mission.
“Until yesterday, we couldn’t rule out anything,” he said in Nuuk. “Respectful dialogue through the right channels is what we have been seeking from the get-go, and I also feel that’s the intention now from the other parties, and I’m happy for that.”
He pointed to a joint working group agreed last week by Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, before Trump raised the prospect of tariffs. At the time, Denmark and the White House offered different public explanations of the group’s purpose.
Asked whether limited U.S. sovereignty over parts of Greenland could ever be considered, Nielsen was unequivocal. “We are ready to negotiate a better partnership and so on, but sovereignty is a red line.”
Public reaction in Denmark reflected lingering unease about Trump’s shift.
“I think the man has said many things and done a lot of different things to what he says,” said Louise Pedersen, 22, who works at a startup in an AP report. “I have a hard time believing it. I think it’s terrifying that we stand here in 2026.”
She said decisions about Greenland belong to its people, “not Donald Trump.”
“I don’t really trust anything Mr. Trump is saying,” said Poul Bjoern Strand, 70, who works in advertising.
From Germany, Chancellor Friedrich Merz emphasized the need for Europe’s NATO members to increase their role in the Arctic, particularly following his country’s inclusion among those threatened with U.S. tariffs.
“We will protect Denmark, Greenland, the north from the threat posed by Russia,” he said at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “We will uphold the principles on which the trans-Atlantic partnership is founded, namely sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Merz said Europe backs dialogue between Denmark, Greenland and the United States grounded in those principles, aimed at closer cooperation. “It is good news that we are making steps into that right direction. I welcome President Trump’s remarks from last night — this is the right way to go.”
READ ALSO: Trump floats tariff penalties to force support for U.S. control of Greenland
Frederiksen later traveled to the United Kingdom for talks with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who stated that the difficult work of strengthening Arctic security could now begin and credited Trump’s “pragmatism” for withdrawing his tariff threats.
