US holds secret talks with Denmark and Greenland in Washington over Arctic tensions

The United States, Denmark, and Greenland held another round of closed-door negotiations in Washington on Thursday, as efforts continue to resolve long-standing disputes over Arctic security and Greenland’s future role, Danish broadcaster DR reported.

Jeppe Tranholm-Mikkelsen, Denmark’s top foreign ministry official, led the Danish delegation alongside Greenland’s representative Minniguaq Kleist in meetings with US chief negotiator Mike Needham—a newly appointed deputy national security adviser to President Trump. Needham, now one of the most senior figures in the US security apparatus, retains direct oversight of the Greenland talks.

The discussions remain deadlocked over core issues, including US demands for expanded military presence and Greenland’s insistence on preserving sovereignty. A central sticking point is Washington’s push for three or four new American bases in Greenland, with both Danish and Greenlandic officials rejecting any transfer of territorial control. Sources told DR that while progress on base agreements is possible, the question of long-term US access—phrased as “forever” by American negotiators—remains unresolved.

A parallel dispute centers on foreign investment restrictions, particularly targeting Chinese access to Greenland’s rare earth minerals. The US seeks mechanisms to block Chinese economic influence, but Greenland resists ceding authority over its own resource policies. Negotiators describe this gap as one of the most intractable, with no clear path to compromise.

Complicating matters further, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry—Trump’s special envoy to Greenland—recently visited Nuuk and later told US media that “there is so much Americans can accomplish in Greenland,” a characterization sources said misrepresented local sentiment and set back talks. Unauthorized US business ventures in Greenland have also emerged as a friction point, with private actors pursuing projects that risk undermining the political process.

The negotiations unfold against the backdrop of Trump’s repeated statements about acquiring Greenland, a stance that initially upended diplomatic relations in 2019. While NATO’s Arctic role is discussed separately, it remains intertwined with the broader US-Denmark-Greenland security framework.