Hours before the high-stakes meeting between US and Danish and Greenlandic officials started, Trump said on social media that the US "needs Greenland for the purpose of National Security".

He added that "NATO should be leading the way for us to get it", or otherwise Russia or China would — "AND THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!"

After the talks, Trump again said that Greenland is very important for national security, including that of Denmark.

"And the problem is there's not a thing that Denmark can do about it if Russia or China wants to occupy Greenland, but there's everything we ?can do," he told reporters at the Oval Office.

Days before the Washington meeting, Rasmussen said the US is painting "a false picture of what is happening in Greenland".

Speaking after an extraordinary meeting of the Foreign Policy Committee on Jan 6, the Danish foreign minister said a picture is being painted that there are a lot of Russian and Chinese ships around Greenland, and that China exerts great influence through investments, Greenlandic public broadcaster KNR reported.

"We do not share this image that Greenland is plastered with Chinese investments," Rasmussen was quoted as saying in the report.

China's Foreign Ministry said that Washington should not use other countries as an excuse to pursue its own interests.

"The Arctic bears on the common interests of the international community. China's activities in the Arctic are aimed at promoting the peace, stability and sustainable development of the region. They are in line with the international law," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Monday.

"Countries' right and freedom to carry out activities in the Arctic in accordance with the law need to be fully respected. The US should not use other countries as a pretext for seeking selfish gains," she said.

According to the 2025 Chicago Council Survey, conducted between July 18 and 30, more than nine in 10 US citizens opposed using US troops to invade Greenland and make it part of the US.