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White House live coverage as US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio meet with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt. The talks focus on Greenland’s status as a semi-autonomous territory within Denmark amid renewed pressure from former President Donald Trump. Will diplomacy preserve Greenland’s alignment with Denmark? Stay updated with APT.
00:00Let's bring in now journalist Jakob Illeberg in Copenhagen, who is following the developments.
00:06Danish and Greenlandic officials are heading to the White House.
00:09What's the mood in Denmark ahead of this meeting?
00:12I think one of trepidation, really.
00:15I'd say that the security situation has never been more severe in Denmark since the Second World War.
00:21The foreign minister going to Washington is a very seasoned negotiator,
00:27and Denmark would pin its hopes on his abilities to speak reason with the Americans.
00:34But as some European newspapers today are suggesting, this could define the future of Western security cooperation.
00:42In many ways, this could also define the future of the Kingdom of Denmark.
00:46So the stakes are extremely high.
00:48President Trump, for his part, still insists on the idea of taking over Greenland one way or the other.
00:53How much room is seen as being left for diplomacy in this tense situation?
01:00Well, that's the big question, isn't it?
01:03The Danes would hope that we can talk reason.
01:07The U.S. has always been given all the rights it wants in terms of security, exploration, whatever it wants, business in America.
01:14And the Danes would hope that it could sort of entice the U.S. to continue this cooperation.
01:20There is also a feeling that there's something else at play for Donald Trump.
01:24And that, in a sense, this is not so much about diplomacy or common sense.
01:28It's about owning Greenland.
01:30And if that's the case, then diplomacy may fall short.
01:33Greenland's prime minister, for his part, says that his country would choose Denmark over the United States.
01:39Do you see this as pulling Greenland closer to Copenhagen?
01:43And what about independence?
01:46Well, I think for now, at least, it's certain years.
01:49The message also in your report before clearly shows that right now Greenland and Denmark stand together.
01:55The big question arises if the Americans strives to sort of give the Greenlanders an offer they can refuse economically.
02:03Will Greenland in the long run still stand with Denmark?
02:06As you say, there's been a long independence movement, growing independence movement in Greenland.
02:11And that might be tested by an offer you can't refuse.
02:14But for now, certainly, the message is the Danes and the Greenlanders walk into the White House together and they walk out together.
02:23Nilsson, the Greenlandic PM, was asked if he would want to speak directly with the Americans, and he refused that.
02:29Let's talk a little bit about what Denmark and Greenland are offering to the United States,
02:34because the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, says that she is open to Arctic cooperation with the United States.
02:41Could expanding that ease some of these tensions?
02:47Well, the Danes would certainly hope so.
02:48And the Danes have invested heavily in expanding military presence in Greenland, not just for now, but also for the future.
02:59They would also hope that cooperation with the EU would help ease tensions and that the Americans, so to speak, could see the common sense in working together with Europeans.
03:09The feeling here is that that cooperation has always been good.
03:12But as I said in the beginning, there's also a feeling that there's something else at play, that Donald Trump covets Greenland, that he wants Greenland, and that, in a sense, cooperation may not be the long-term answer.
03:23But for now, the stakes are high, the Danes are going, and the Greenlanders are going to the White House to hope to speak to J.D. Vance and to Marco Rubio,
03:32and to explain to them that they want for all, you know, whatever they can do, they want cooperate, but that there is no way that Greenland is for sale.
03:41Journalist Jakob Illiberg in Copenhagen. Thank you.
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