What's at stake as Greenland and Denmark prepare for a White House showdown

The Trump medication is poised for crunch talks with Greenlandic and Danish officials connected Wednesday, amid the U.S. president's ongoing push to instrumentality power of Greenland.

Greenland Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt and her Danish counterpart, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, are expected to convene astatine the White House for talks with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The high-stakes gathering comes soon aft Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen portrayed a agreed beforehand against Trump's repeated takeover threats.

Speaking astatine a associated property league successful Copenhagen connected Tuesday, Greenland's Nielsen said that if the self-governing Danish territory indispensable take betwixt the U.S. and Denmark, "we take Denmark."

Frederiksen besides said it had not been casual to basal up to what she described arsenic "completely unacceptable pressure" from our closest ally. "But determination is overmuch to suggest that the hardest portion is inactive up of us."

Trump, who has long coveted making Greenland a portion of the United States, renewed his involvement successful the immense and mineral-rich Arctic land pursuing an audacious U.S. subject cognition successful Venezuela connected Jan. 3.

The U.S. president has said that the island, which is strategically situated betwixt Europe and North America, is captious "from the standpoint of nationalist security."

Speaking to reporters connected committee Air Force One successful caller days, Trump said the U.S. would instrumentality power of Greenland "one mode oregon the other," adjacent if it strains the narration wrong the NATO subject alliance.

Trump's comments person raised alarm successful Denmark, which is liable for the defence of Greenland, with Frederiksen cautioning that a U.S. onslaught would people the extremity of NATO.

Ian Lesser, distinguished chap astatine GMF, a Washington-based deliberation tank, said the stakes were "very high" for the talks, informing that nonaccomplishment to resoluteness the diplomatic situation "does not conscionable endanger NATO cohesion, it threatens the aboriginal beingness of the Alliance arsenic we cognize it."

The gathering volition apt question to clarify the prospects for and imaginable contours of a negotiated colony of the crisis, Lesser said.

"There could beryllium caller European commitments to strengthening the defence of Greenland, and much important, the surrounding maritime space. There mightiness besides beryllium parallel talks astir caller and preferential US entree to Greenland's resources," Lesser told CNBC by email.

"Or, the gathering could extremity successful acrimony," helium added.

The imaginable of a nationalist fallout betwixt U.S. and European officials astatine the White House brings to caput a highly contentious meeting betwixt Trump, Vance, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy successful February past year.

Trump and Vance accused Zelenskyy of a deficiency of respect arsenic the gathering veered sharply disconnected track, devolving into an bonzer shouting lucifer unrecorded connected camera.

Carl Bildt, erstwhile premier curate of Sweden, said helium does not expect the U.S., Greenland, and Denmark to beryllium capable to find a diplomatic solution connected Wednesday, describing the concern arsenic "a profound crisis."

"I deliberation determination was a important change, I deliberation it was yesterday, erstwhile it was announced successful Washington that JD Vance, the vice president, was going to instrumentality implicit the meeting," Bildt told CNBC's "Europe Early Edition" connected Wednesday.

"It was scheduled to beryllium with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has indicated a somewhat milder approach, but JD Vance has, of course, been straight insulting towards Denmark and demanding precise unusual things," Bildt said.

"I expect a reasonably hard meeting. I don't expect immoderate resolution. At best, I expect that they volition initiate the process of talks of immoderate sort," helium added.

Bildt, who serves arsenic co-chair of the European Council connected Foreign Relations deliberation tank, referred to JD Vance's remarks astatine the Munich Security Conference successful February past year, saying his "rather extraordinary" investigation of Europe was much successful enactment with the "extreme right" of the region.

"This is not the trans-Atlantic confederation we utilized to have," helium added.

Otto Svendsen, subordinate chap with the Europe, Russia and Eurasia Program astatine the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based deliberation tank, said tensions betwixt Greenland and Denmark person been acceptable speech to contiguous a agreed beforehand against U.S. threats.

The White House meeting, Svendsen said, volition supply further clues arsenic to however committed the full Trump medication is to acquiring Greenland — and however deterred the medication is to threats of a implicit breakdown successful bilateral relations.

"A bully result for the Danes and Greenlanders would beryllium a connection that affirms Greenland's sovereignty and presumption wrong the Kingdom. Anything abbreviated of that leaves the doorway unfastened to continued threats and coercion," Svendsen told CNBC by email.

"In return, the Danish and Greenlandic delegation volition apt connection plans to revisit economical and information arrangements among the 3 countries, specified arsenic much favorable entree for U.S. companies to the Greenlandic mining assemblage and further Danish investments successful Arctic security," helium added.

Several European leaders rallied successful enactment of Greenland past week, saying information successful the Arctic indispensable beryllium achieved collectively.

"Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to determine connected matters concerning Denmark and Greenland," the leaders said. The missive was signed by French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, arsenic good arsenic the leaders of Italy, Spain and Poland.