Greenland's Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt described diplomatic talks with the US on Saturday as "positive," though she said the fate of the autonomous territory under Denmark remains uncertain as US President Donald Trump continues to reiterate his desire to have it for the US, citing national security interests.

"We ​are ​not where we want to be yet," said Motzfeldt during a joint press conference with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand, who opened a new Canadian consulate in Greenland's capital Nuuk on Friday. 

"There is going to be a long track, so ‍where we are going to land ​at the end, it's too early to say."

For his part, the Danish foreign minister described the situation in similar terms, saying, "We are not out of the crisis, and we do not have a solution yet," continuing, "we are in a much better position now, compared to a few weeks ago."

Danes and Greenlanders remain calm despite US threats

Lokke Rasmussen referenced several past incidents without going into detail, telling reporters in Nuuk, "there are no threats on the table, there is no trade war with Europe," and adding that all sides had agreed to a "normal diplomatic" approach to resolving the impasse.

Trump's overtures began with musings about purchasing the Arctic island of Greenland from Denmark during his first term in office. Since returning to the White House in January 2025, he has not tired of publicly voicing his desire to wrest the territory from NATO ally Denmark.

Although the US military has the freedom to establish and operate bases freely in Greenland thanks to a 1951 treaty, Trump has insisted he can only protect the territory if the US truly possesses it, calling it a "psychologically important" step.

His public statements seemed to come to an initial crescendo on January 21, when he delivered a speech at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.

Standing on the world stage, Trump made the case for the US to be given ownership of the territory, though he did back away from maximalist threats of potential US military action to make sure that vision becomes a reality.

When EU and NATO allies publicly and aggressively pushed back at the idea, Trump threatened to levy massive punitive tariffs. He has since backed off that threat, too, although allies remain wary of the mercurial leader.

Why are the US, Greenland and Denmark meeting? 

Talks taking place now stem from a "framework" agreement that Trump struck with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte after he spooked allies with his tariff threat. The new plan would give the US more say in Arctic security.

This led to the creation of a Denmark-Greenland-US working group, which was formed to cater to US security concerns. Trump insists that China and Russia are ready to pounce on Greenland as Arctic ice melts and new shipping lanes open. Denmark and its other NATO allies say this is not the case.

Lokke Rasmussen said on Saturday that initial talks had already taken place and that more will follow.

Motzfeldt added that she welcomed the opportunity to engage in "direct dialogue" with the US.

Both Denmark and Greenland have publicly stated that they share US security concerns but insist that Greenland's future must be determined by Greenlanders.

Both Greenland and Denmark have also loudly declared that their sovereignty and territorial integrity are absolute "red lines" and not up for discussion.

Noting that this was made exceedingly clear to their US counterparts, Lokke Rasmussen said he thought it was possible "to find a solution while at the same time respecting those red lines."

Asked if the US was respecting Denmark and Greenland's stance, Lokke Rasmussen said: "I don't want to go into details."

Edited by: Zac Crellin