Washington, 16 January 2026 (dpa/MIA) - The US government on Thursday downplayed a military reconnaissance mission by several of Denmark's NATO allies to Greenland.

"I don't think troops in Europe impact the president's decision making process, nor does it impact his goal of the acquisition of Greenland at all," White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told journalists in Washington.

US President Donald Trump has set his sights on the Arctic island of Greenland, saying the United States needs to control it for security reasons.

Greenland, which has a population just under 57,000, has said it does not wish to become part of the United States.

Several of Denmark's NATO allies are sending soldiers to the Arctic island. Largely autonomous Greenland is part of the territory of Denmark, a NATO member.

The German Armed Forces are also participating in the reconnaissance mission.

Trump has repeatedly justified this interest in acquiring Greenland on the grounds of national security interests and warns against too strong a presence of Russia and China in the Arctic region.

A crisis meeting between the US, Denmark and Greenland on Wednesday failed to resolve the conflict over US ownership claims.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said the meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance revealed "fundamental" differences of opinion. Trump was not present.

Leavitt, however, spoke of a "productive meeting. It was a good meeting," she said.

She added that it had been agreed to set up a working group to hold technical talks on the acquisition of Greenland. She had been told that these meetings would take place every two to three weeks, Leavitt added.

MIA file photo