Danes fear nothing will satisfy Trump's desire for Greenland

Riding high on his Venezuela 'success', the president appears set on control of the territory and its mineral wealth. Ahead of a crunch US meeting this week with Denmark, is there any way to prevent him simply taking it?

- Isabel Coles, Hugh Tomlinson & Steve Bloomfield

The Danish government fears there is no deal it can offer US president Donald Trump that will persuade him not to annex Greenland, The Observer understands, ahead of a crunch meeting this week between US secretary of state Marco Rubio and the prime ministers of Denmark and Greenland.

During a call last year between Trump and the Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen, the US president made clear that his desire to own Greenland was "personal", according to someone briefed on the contents of the call. They added that Frederiksen came away with the sense Trump felt "this is my space and I want to own it".

Now, as the Danish government scrambles to devise a plan that might appeal to Trump, that realisation is crystallising. "It's difficult to see what it is that they really want except for putting their name on the map, and that's not something we can give them," said Rasmus Jarlov, the chairman of the Danish defence committee.

One option is a joint operation to invest in minerals, along similar lines to the deal the US struck last year with Ukraine. Denmark is also inviting the US to expand its military presence in Greenland, building on an agreement dating back to 1951 that already gives it significant access.

"If the US wants to get increased control over Greenland militarily or in security policy terms, it could easily achieve this through the existing agreement between the Kingdom of Denmark and the US," said Klavs Holm, a Danish diplomat. "The question is: is that enough for Mr Trump?"