After failed talks in Washington between officials from the US, Denmark and Greenland, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said there remained "fundamental disagreement" between the parties. 

Hours later, US President Donald Trump reiterated demands that his country needed Greenland and that Denmark cannot be relied upon to protect the island,

Meanwhile, France, Sweden, Germany and Norway announced that they would deploy military personnel to the island's capital Nuuk as part of a reconnaissance mission. The move was described by Russia as "of serious concern".

Speaking after the truncated talks in the US capital, Greenland's Foreign Minister said her government wanted to strengthen cooperation with the United States but that Greenland did not want to be owned by the US.

Denmark: US ambition 'intact'

After meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance at the White House on Wednesday, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt said the US and Denmark would form a working group to discuss a broad array of concerns regarding the island that could meet in the coming weeks.

But they also made clear that Washington had not budged on its position that it must acquire Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark that is strategically located and rich in minerals. Rasmussen and Motzfeldt described such an outcome as an unacceptable breach of sovereignty.

"We didn't manage to change the American position," Rasmussen told reporters outside the Danish embassy in Washington. "It's clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland."

On Thursday Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen reiterated that the US ambition to take control of Greenland remained "intact" and that there was still a "fundamental disagreement" between the countries.

"There is a fundamental disagreement, because the American ambition to take over Greenland remains intact. This is obviously a serious matter, and we are therefore continuing our efforts to prevent this scenario from becoming a reality," Frederiksen said in a statement.

Trump refuses to budge

After Wednesday's meeting Trump insisted that Denmark cannot be relied upon to protect the island, even as he said that "something will work out" with respect to the future governance of the Danish overseas territory.

Trump has not ruled out taking Greenland by force. Before the two-hour meeting, he argued on social media that NATO would become far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the US. "Anything less than that is unacceptable," he wrote.

NATO allies make troop moves

French President Emmanuel Macron convened an emergency defense cabinet in Paris on Thursday to discuss Trump's stated intent to acquire Greenland and the situation in Iran.

In an overnight message on X, Macron said a first group of French military personnel were already headed to Greenland to participate in an exercise organised by Denmark and Greenland, an overseas Danish territory.

Allied nations including Germany, Norway and Sweden have begun deploying troops to Greenland in a show of support to Copenhagen and Nuuk.

"At Denmark's request, I have decided that France will participate in the joint exercises organised by Denmark in Greenland," Macron said in his X post. "The first French military elements are already en route. Others will follow."

Germany will send 13 soldiers to Greenland on Thursday as part of the reconnaissance.

The mission, which comes at the request of Denmark, will take place from Thursday to Saturday, aiming to explore possible military contributions to bolster the security of the region, a defense ministry statement said.

This could, for example, include maritime surveillance, it added.

Late on Wednesday, a Danish Air Force plane landed at Nuuk airport and personnel in military fatigues disembarked, footage showed. 

On Wednesday, Sweden and Norway announced that they would send military personnel to the island.