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Talks between the U.S., Denmark and Greenland are on a “good trajectory,” a White House official said, despite a public dispute over President Donald Trump’s insistence that the United States should take control of the island.
Technical talks are ongoing, the official told Fox News Digital Wednesday, “to address United States’ national security interests in Greenland.”
“We are not going to participate in a back and forth through the media, but we are very optimistic that we’re on a good trajectory,” the official said.
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The optimism comes after Trump said recently that Denmark and Greenland have resisted his proposal.
“We want Greenland. They don’t want to give it to us,” he said.
The dispute centers on Greenland’s growing strategic importance, as the island sits along the shortest route between North America and Europe and plays a key role in U.S. missile warning systems and Arctic defense. Trump has argued greater U.S. control is necessary to counter Russia and China’s expanding presence in the region.
The United States already maintains a military presence in Greenland under a 1951 defense agreement with Denmark, which allows U.S. forces to operate bases on the island as part of NATO’s collective defense framework.
The U.S. operates Pituffik Space Base in Greenland — a key installation for missile warning and space surveillance — and retains broad rights to expand its military footprint in coordination with Danish authorities.
U.S. officials have recently explored expanding that presence further, including seeking access to additional sites and increasing operational capabilities in the Arctic, with discussions underway as tensions over Greenland have grown.
The Pituffik Space Base (formerly Thule Air Base) is pictured in northern Greenland in 2023. (Thomas Traasdahl/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP)
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