Greenland’s former foreign minister, Vivian Motzfeldt, has described what happened behind closed doors at the January 2026 meeting in Washington with J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio that led to the renewed defence agreement with the United States.
Motzfeldt spoke about the meeting in an interview on DR’s radio program P1 Morgen. DR reports that she chose to speak now because the agreement is finally in place. She was Greenland’s minister for foreign affairs on 14 January 2026, when she met the US vice president and secretary of state.
According to DR, Motzfeldt said she felt strong that day because the entire population of her country had placed its trust in her. She described sensing respect in the room and a genuine interest in Greenland from the American side. The meeting produced the high-level working group that she helped agree on.
Before the meeting, Motzfeldt had flown to Copenhagen to prepare with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen. Per DR, the two went through plans and worst-case scenarios, and she referred to the 2025 White House clash between Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had repeatedly declined to rule out the use of military force over Greenland.
What the signed agreement contains
Reuters reports that the United States, Denmark and Greenland signed the agreement in New York on 22 September 2026. According to the White House, the text amends and supplements the 1951 defence agreement between the United States and Denmark on Greenland.
As reported by Reuters, the deal lets the United States expand activities at Pituffik Space Base. It also allows new defence areas at Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig, broad overflight and landing rights for US aircraft, and undersea access in Greenland and its territorial waters.
The White House text states that the agreement enters into force once Denmark and Greenland complete the necessary parliamentary procedures. Both must then notify the United States through diplomatic channels. ABC News notes that if Greenland becomes independent, it would remain in NATO and take on Denmark’s obligations under the agreement.
Motzfeldt told DR she is satisfied with the outcome, including that NATO commitment. She said there has never been any doubt that Greenland wants to be part of NATO, regardless of independence.
DR notes that the day after the January meeting, a White House spokeswoman said the working group was meant to discuss how the United States could take over Greenland. Motzfeldt said she kept her focus on the diplomatic track that had been agreed.
Motzfeldt left the post a few months after the Washington meeting, when her party withdrew from Naalakkersuisut, Greenland’s government. Múte B. Egede took over as minister for foreign affairs.
