The foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland will meet at the White House today for talks aimed at defusing the crisis over the vast Arctic island, an autonomous region owned by Denmark that U.S. President Donald Trump wants to bring under U.S. control.

Since his return to the presidency, Trump has often referred to the possibility of the US taking control of Greenland, a sparsely populated island strategically located.

His threats are being treated differently after the U.S. operation in Caracas earlier this month that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Locke Rasmussen had requested talks with his U.S. counterpart Marko Rubio. However, the meeting will eventually take place at the White House as US Vice President J.D. Vance requested to attend the meeting.

Lokke Rasmussen has said he hopes to clear up “some misunderstandings” during that meeting, while Denmark and Greenland reject the possibility of passing control of the island to the US, despite the US president reiterating on Sunday that he would do so “the easy way or the hard way.”

The Republican billionaire stresses that the US needs Greenland to limit Russia and China’s expansion into the Arctic.

“Geopolitical crisis”

According to Penny Naas, a researcher at the US German Marshall Fund (GMFUS), a center for the study of transatlantic relations, today’s meeting may be short-lived if the Americans insist on their demand to acquire Greenland regardless of the cost.

However, “if there is a slight nuance of differentiation, that could lead to a different discussion,” he estimated.

“We are facing a geopolitical crisis and, if we have to choose between the US and Denmark at the moment, we choose Denmark,” Greenland’s Prime Minister France-Frederick Nielsen told a press conference yesterday, Tuesday, during a visit to Copenhagen.

“Greenland will not belong to the United States. Greenland will not be governed by the US. Greenland will not become part of the US,” he said.

Asked about these statements by Nielsen, Trump replied, “Well, that’s their problem.” “I don’t know anything (about the Greenlandic prime minister), but this is going to be a big problem for him,” he added.

On Nielsen’s side, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen assessed that it was not easy to resist “totally unacceptable pressure from our closest ally.”

Denmark, a member of NATO, rejects U.S. accusations that it is not adequately protecting Greenland against Russia and China. Copenhagen recalls that it has, among other things, invested nearly 90 billion kroner (12 billion euros) to strengthen its military presence in the Arctic.

Shortly after the White House meeting, a US congressional delegation – made up mostly of Democrats but also one Republican – will travel to Copenhagen to express solidarity with Denmark.

“President Trump’s continued threats to Greenland are futile and do nothing but weaken our alliance within NATO,” said Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, who will be part of that delegation.