Technical discussions between the United States, Denmark, and Greenland aimed at forging an Arctic security agreement have commenced, according to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Denmark and Greenland’s foreign ministers agreed to establish a working group designed to resolve disputes with the U.S. during a meeting in Washington earlier this month. The meeting included Vice President JD Vance and Secretary Rubio.

This initiative follows President Donald Trump’s controversial proposals for the U.S. to acquire Greenland, a Danish territory, as part of a strategy to counteract Russian and Chinese influence—proposals that were strongly opposed by Greenland, Denmark, and European partners.

Speaking before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday, Rubio stated, “The process starts today and will continue on a regular basis.” He emphasized the intention to avoid turning these discussions into a “media circus,” which he believes would allow for more flexibility in achieving a mutually beneficial agreement.

The Danish Embassy in Washington has opted not to comment on the initiation of these talks.

A spokesperson for the Danish Embassy in Washington declined to comment on the start of the talks.

Trump’s renewed threats in recent weeks to annex Greenland, which is a semi-autonomous territory of a NATO ally, has roiled US-European relations.

Trump this month announced he would slap new tariffs on Denmark and seven other European countries that opposed his takeover calls, only to abruptly drop his threats after a “framework” for a deal over access to the mineral-rich island was reached, with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s help. Few details of the agreement have emerged.

After stiff pushback from European allies to his Greenland rhetoric, Trump also announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week that he would take off the table the possibility of using American military force to acquire Greenland.

The US president backed off his tariff threats and softened his language after Wall Street suffered its biggest losses in months over concerns that Trump’s Greenland ambitions could spur a trade war and fundamentally rupture NATO, a 32-member transatlantic military alliance that’s been a linchpin of post-World War II security.

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