Greenland and Denmark ministers hold talks with Vance after Trump threat

Denmark’s foreign minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen, left, ahead of his meeting with JD Vance(Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

Ministers from Greenland and Denmark have met in Washington with top White House officials as President Donald Trump moved to ratchet up the pressure by suggesting that Nato should help the United States acquire the world’s largest island.

As the senior officials held talks in Washington, Denmark announced plans to boost the country’s military presence in the Arctic and North Atlantic as Mr Trump tried to justify his calls for a US takeover of the vast territory by repeatedly claiming that China and Russia have their designs on Greenland.