At a NATO summit in Ankara on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump declared that Greenland “should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark,” linking the long-running dispute to what he described as damaged relations with the alliance and threatening to “remove all of our soldiers out of Europe.” The statement, made during a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, marked the latest public escalation of a demand that has strained ties between Washington and Copenhagen since Trump first raised the idea of purchasing the semi-autonomous Danish territory in 2019.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen responded hours later at the same summit, stating that Greenland is “not for sale” and that Greenlanders themselves have made clear they do not wish to become part of the United States. Greenland’s Foreign Minister Mute Egede separately insisted that the island’s future must be decided by its own people. The European Union has backed Denmark’s position, with officials in Brussels reiterating that the sovereignty of the kingdom is non-negotiable. In Washington, officials frame the demand as a national security imperative, pointing to increased Chinese and Russian naval activity in the Arctic and arguing that Copenhagen has failed to invest adequately in the island’s defence.

The dispute has since moved onto a diplomatic track. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed in June that conversations with Denmark and Greenland continue on a monthly basis, and a high-level working group was established earlier this year to seek what Danish officials have called a “good solution.” The 1951 defence agreement between the US and Denmark already permits American military presence on the island with prior notification, and Washington is now seeking to build three new bases. Trump’s threat to withdraw US forces from Europe, while not a formal announcement, was interpreted in European capitals as a signal of the leverage he is prepared to use.

Trump’s interest in Greenland has intensified since his return to office. In January 2026, he refused to rule out military force to acquire the territory and threatened tariffs on European goods, before softening his rhetoric after talks with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. The island’s strategic value lies in its location astride the shortest missile flight path from Russia to North America, its role in the US ballistic missile early-warning system, and its untapped rare earth minerals. European allies, including France and Germany, have discussed the possibility of deploying troops to Greenland in response to US pressure, though no such deployment has materialised.

The working group continues to meet, but according to European diplomats the US position seeks either formal control or a long-term arrangement that would, in practice, transfer sovereignty, while Denmark and Greenland reject any transfer of sovereignty. The NATO summit provided a stage for the public reiteration of these stances, with no indication of a breakthrough. The next formal step is expected to be another round of working-group talks, though no date has been announced.