Danish foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen emerged from White House talks vowing to push back against United States President Donald Trump's plan to take control of Greenland.
It is "absolutely not necessary" for the US to seize Greenland, Rasmussen said. "We didn't manage to change the American position. It's clear that the president has this wish of conquering Greenland. And we made it very, very clear that this is not in the interest of the kingdom."
Rasmussen urged the US to engage in "respectful" cooperation over the Arctic island that is controlled by Denmark.
"We still have fundamental disagreement" but we will continue to talk," he said.
Ahead of the meeting, which lasted less than two hours and wrapped up at around noon, Greenland and Denmark said they had started to increase their military presence in and around Greenland in close cooperation with NATO allies, as part of their promise to beef up Arctic defence.
"It is vital for the Golden Dome that we are building," Trump said in a social media post just hours before the meeting.
He said NATO would become far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the US. "Anything less than that is unacceptable," he wrote.
In a follow-up post citing Russia and China, Trump wrote: "NATO: Tell Denmark to get them out of here, NOW! Two dogsleds won't do it! Only the USA can!!!"
Trump had repeatedly said in recent weeks that the strategically located and mineral-rich island is vital to US security, and the US must own it to prevent Russia or China from occupying it.
He has said all options are on the table for securing the territory, a rhetoric that has strained relations between Denmark and the US.
Greenland and Denmark say the island is not for sale, and that threats of force are reckless and security concerns should be resolved among allies. Prominent European Union countries have backed Denmark, which is a member of the NATO alliance.
Germany's army will send troops to Greenland, along with troops from other European countries, German officials said on Wednesday.
The deployment of a 13-strong Bundeswehr reconnaissance team from Thursday aims to "explore the framework conditions for possible military contributions to support Denmark in ensuring security in the region", the German defence ministry said.
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