An Aurora Borealis is seen in the sky above Nuuk, Greenland, on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka) Denmark’s Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, has insisted that her country can’t negotiate on its sovereignty after US President Donald Trump said he agreed on a “framework of a future deal” on Greenland. Frederiksen on Thursday said security in the Arctic is a matter for all of NATO, and it is “good and natural” that it be discussed between the US president and Secretary General, Mark Rutte.
‘Cannot negotiate our sovereignty’
Frederiksen said in a statement that she had spoken with Rutte “on an ongoing basis,” including before and after he met Trump in Davos.
She wrote that NATO is fully aware of the kingdom of Denmark’s position that anything political can be negotiated on, including security, investment, and economic issues — “but we cannot negotiate on our sovereignty.”
“I have been informed that this has not been the case,” she said, adding that only Denmark and Greenland can make decisions on issues concerning Denmark and Greenland.
Frederiksen said that Denmark wants to continue engaging in constructive dialogue with allies on how to strengthen security in the Arctic, including the US Golden Dome programme, “provided that this is done with respect for our territorial integrity.”
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Trump’s U-turn on Greenland
The Danish PM’s comments come a day after Trump, while speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, for the first time ruled out using force to take control of Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark.
Later in the day, Trump also announced that he was dropping the earlier announced tariffs on eight European countries after “very productive” talks with Rutte on a potential deal on Greenland.
What Trump said
Trump said negotiations regarding Greenland currently give the US “total access” for defense.
“It’s really being negotiated now, the details of it, but essentially it’s total access. It’s there’s no end, there’s no time limit,” Trump said in an interview with Fox Business.
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Trump said the access will allow the placement of the Golden Dome defense system, saying, “We’re getting everything we want at no cost.”
“It’s a very important part, because it’s everything comes over Greenland. If the bad guys start shooting, it comes over Greenland. So we knock it down. It’s pretty infallible. It’s amazing,” he said.
Did not discuss: Rutte
NATO Secretary General, Rutte, who spoke to Fox News, said that the issue of whether Greenland would remain part of the kingdom of Denmark under the framework deal Trump announced, “did not come up anymore in my conversations tonight with the president.”
“He’s very much focused on what do we need to do to make sure that huge Arctic region, where change is taking place at the moment, where the Chinese and Russians are more and more active, how we can protect it,” he said. “That was really the focus of our discussions.”
