BY EMMANUEL OGBONNA
Technical negotiations between the United States, Denmark and Greenland aimed at crafting a new Arctic security arrangement have formally begun, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday, signaling a shift toward behind-the-scenes diplomacy after weeks of public friction over President Donald Trump’s rhetoric on Greenland.
Rubio told lawmakers that a working group made up of officials from the three governments has started meeting to address differences and explore areas of cooperation in the strategically sensitive Arctic region. The initiative was agreed to earlier this month during meetings in Washington involving Rubio, Vice President JD Vance, and the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland.
“It begins today and it will be a regular process,” Rubio said as he testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He emphasized that the talks would be conducted quietly and away from constant public scrutiny. “We’re going to try to do it in a way that isn’t like a media circus every time these conversations happen, because we think that creates more flexibility on both sides to arrive at a positive outcome.”
The working group was established in the aftermath of Trump’s repeated calls for the United States to take over Greenland, a semiautonomous Danish territory, arguing that American control was necessary to counter growing Russian and Chinese influence in the Arctic. Those comments drew swift and forceful rejection from Greenlandic and Danish leaders, as well as from European allies, who underscored that Greenland is not for sale and that Denmark’s sovereignty must be respected.
A spokesperson for the Danish Embassy in Washington declined to comment on the launch of the talks or their scope.
Trump’s renewed statements in recent weeks about annexing Greenland rattled relations between Washington and Europe, particularly because Denmark is a NATO ally and Greenland occupies a strategically vital position in the Arctic. The island is rich in critical minerals and hosts important military infrastructure, making it increasingly central to global competition as melting ice opens new shipping routes and access to resources.
Earlier this month, Trump escalated the dispute by threatening to impose new tariffs on Denmark and seven other European countries that opposed his stance on Greenland. Those threats were later dropped after officials, with the involvement of NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, reached what Trump described as a “framework” agreement focused on access and cooperation related to the mineral-rich territory. Few concrete details of that understanding have been made public.
Following sharp criticism from European leaders and mounting economic concerns at home, Trump also softened his tone. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week, he said he would take the use of American military force to acquire Greenland off the table. His retreat came as U.S. financial markets suffered their steepest losses in months, driven in part by fears that the Greenland dispute could spark a broader trade conflict and undermine NATO, the 32-member alliance that has anchored transatlantic security since World War II.
Rubio on Wednesday sought to play down the notion of a deep or lasting rupture with Europe over Greenland, projecting confidence that diplomacy would ease tensions.
“We’ve got a little bit of work to do, but I think we’re going to wind up in a good place,” he said. “And I think you’ll hear the same from our colleagues in Europe very shortly.”
The secretary of state’s appearance before the committee also featured a pointed exchange with Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, who questioned Rubio about Trump repeatedly referring to Greenland as Iceland during his remarks in Davos. Rubio brushed off the criticism, attributing the mistake to a simple verbal slip.
“Yeah, he meant to say Greenland, but I think we’re all familiar with presidents that have verbal stumbles,” Rubio said, adding that such errors were hardly unprecedented and taking a subtle swipe at former President Joe Biden. “We’ve had presidents like that before. Some made a lot more than this one.”
As the newly formed working group begins its discussions, officials on all sides appear eager to lower the temperature around Greenland while quietly testing whether cooperation on Arctic security can move forward after a period of unusually public discord.
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