The foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland will meet US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio tomorrow, the Danish foreign minister has said, amid President Donald Trump's push to take control of the Arctic island.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt had requested a meeting with Mr Rubio after Mr Trump recently stepped up threats to take over Greenland, an autonomous territory under the Kingdom of Denmark.
"US Vice President JD Vance also wanted to participate in the meeting, and he will host the meeting, which will therefore be held at the White House," Mr Rasmussen told reporters in Copenhagen.
"Our reason for seeking the meeting we have now been given was to move this whole discussion... into a meeting room where we can look each other in the eye and talk about these things," he added.
Mr Trump first floated the idea of a US takeover of Greenland in 2019 during his first term in office, although he faces opposition in Washington, including from within his own party.
While Denmark has ruled Greenland for centuries, the territory has gradually been moving towards independence since 1979, a goal shared by all political parties elected to the island's parliament.
A Republican congressman from Florida has introduced a bill to annex Greenland and make it the 51st US state.
Representative Randy Fine said his new legislation would authorise Mr Trump "to take whatever steps necessary to annex or acquire Greenland."
It would also require the Trump administration to send a report to Congress detailing changes to federal law that would allow the Arctic island to become a US state.
"Greenland is not a distant outpost we can afford to ignore - it is a vital national security asset," Mr Fine said in a statement.
Meanwhile Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said he would be meeting with NATO's Secretary General Mark Rutte on Monday to discuss Arctic security, also together with Ms Motzfeldt.
Read More:
US military takeover of Greenland would be end of NATO - commissioner
'I don't want to leave my people' - fear grips citizens of Greenland
Yesterday, European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius said that EU member states would be obliged to come to Denmark's assistance if faced with military aggression.
"I agree with the Danish Prime Minister (Mette Frederiksen) that it will be the end of NATO, but also among people it will be very, very negative," he said as he attended a security conference in Sweden.
