Five takeaways from crunch White House talks on Greenland’s future

A high-stakes meeting between the U.S., Denmark and Greenland implicit the Arctic island's aboriginal ended without a large breakthrough, amplifying concerns astir the imaginable of a near-term solution.

The White House gathering connected Wednesday betwixt U.S. Vice President JD Vance, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and Greenland's Vivian Motzfeldt lasted for astir an hour.

Denmark's Rasmussen described the speech arsenic "frank but constructive," but added that U.S. President Donald Trump's repeated threats to instrumentality power of Greenland were "totally unacceptable."

CNBC takes a look astatine 5 cardinal takeaways from the White House showdown.

For some, the White House talks did execute thing significant. The U.S., Denmark and Greenland agreed to found a high-level moving radical to effort to find a mode guardant for the self-governing Danish territory.

By doing so, Penny Naas, elder vice president astatine GMF, a Washington-based deliberation tank, said the 3 countries had averted a worst-case scenario.

"Greenland's strategical value has made it a focal constituent of sustained U.S. interest, including periodic pushes for acquisition. Yet Greenlanders person been unequivocal: they worth their heavy ties with Denmark, NATO, and Europe, and bash not spot their aboriginal arsenic portion of the United States," Naas told CNBC by email.

"Bridging this gap, betwixt a U.S. medication that inactive signals a tendency to 'own' Greenland and a Greenlandic colonisation firmly committed to aforesaid determination, volition necessitate creativity and a realistic appreciation of the concerns connected each sides," she added.

Rasmussen said the moving radical planned to conscionable implicit the coming weeks successful a bid to find a compromise. He said Denmark and Greenland were receptive to the anticipation of the U.S. opening much subject bases connected the land — but insisted determination were immoderate "red lines" Washington could not cross.

Just hours earlier Wednesday's gathering was acceptable to get underway, Trump said thing little than Greenland becoming a portion of the United States would beryllium "unacceptable."

He aboriginal reiterated this stance, telling reporters successful the Oval Office: "We request Greenland for nationalist security."

Guntram Wolff, elder chap astatine Bruegel, a Brussels-based deliberation tank, said Trump's propulsion to instrumentality power of Greenland is seen arsenic "totally unacceptable" to Europe and raises questions astir the integrity of the NATO subject alliance.

"If the U.S. president says helium tin lone support what helium owns, good what helium is fundamentally saying is helium cannot support Europe nether immoderate circumstances due to the fact that helium doesn't ain Europe, right?" Wolff told CNBC's "Europe Early Edition" connected Thursday. "And so, that means Article 5 of NATO, the enactment of the U.S. president for European security, cannot beryllium taken for granted anymore," helium added.

NATO's Article 5 communal defence clause means that an onslaught against 1 NATO subordinate is considered an onslaught against each allies. The U.S. and Denmark, which is liable for the defence of Greenland, are some NATO members.

Trump, who has long coveted power of the mineral-rich island, has repeatedly said successful caller weeks that lone the U.S. tin antagonistic an alleged menace from Russia and China to Greenland.

"The occupation is determination is not a happening that Denmark tin bash astir it if Russia oregon China wants to inhabit Greenland, but determination is everything that we tin do," Trump said connected Wednesday, adding that helium can't trust connected Copenhagen to support Greenland.

It is existent that Russia and China person been deepening and widening their areas of practice successful the Arctic, including with their militaries and dual usage of infrastructure and research, said Marisol Maddox, a elder chap astatine the Institute of Arctic Studies astatine Dartmouth University.

"However, Greenland is not wherever we are seeing this activity. Where we are seeing associated Russian and Chinese subject enactment is disconnected the seashore of Alaska, which remains under-invested successful by the US," Maddox told CNBC by email.

"Since President Trump initially voiced interest astir Greenland's security, Denmark has stepped up and announced billions of dollars of game-changing defence investments," Maddox said.

"Through Allied cooperation, we person successfully headed disconnected predatory investments by Chinese state-linked companies successful Greenland and different parts of the Arctic," she added.

At Denmark's request, respective NATO members person confirmed plans to nonstop subject unit to Greenland this week arsenic portion of a associated workout referred to arsenic "Operation Arctic Endurance."

Before the White House meeting, Denmark announced plans to beef up its subject beingness successful Greenland, saying the activities could see guarding nationalist infrastructure, deploying combatant craft and conducting naval operations.

Germany, France, Sweden and Norway person each confirmed plans to instrumentality portion successful a amusement of enactment for some Copenhagen and Nuuk.

"As portion of the NATO alliance, it is simply a halfway precedence for the Government of Greenland, that defence and information successful and astir Greenland are strengthened, and that this is achieved successful adjacent practice with our NATO allies," Greenland's Motzfeldt said successful a statement.

Looking ahead, analysts were struggling to spot the imaginable for a solution to the standoff.

Rasmus Brun Pedersen, subordinate prof astatine Denmark's Aarhus University, said helium expects Denmark and NATO allies to bolster their subject beingness successful Greenland arsenic portion of a propulsion to person the Trump medication that it is taking Arctic information seriously.

"We volition person a important arms summation of NATO successful the portion and hopefully that we beryllium thing that we tin accidental to the United States, good you had immoderate information concerns, look astatine this, we person reacted," Pedersen told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" connected Thursday.

"And hopefully the United States volition say, OK determination were nary troops before, but present that President Trump has been capable to unit its reluctant NATO allies to summation their beingness successful the portion and that tin beryllium claimed arsenic a victory."

Pedersen warned, however, that the U.S. presumption shows that it mightiness good crook retired to beryllium unconvinced by this strategy. "So, wherever the compromise lies, that's a bully question."