White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump “has made his priority” of taking Greenland “quite clear.”

“In that meeting, the two sides agreed to really establish a working group of individuals who will continue to have technical talks on the acquisition of Greenland. Those talks will take place, I’m told, every two to three weeks,” she told reporters at the White House on Thursday.

“This is a conversation the administration intends to keep having with the Danes and with the respected delegation from Greenland,” Leavitt added.

Leavitt also emphasized that Trump has clearly laid out his priorities. “The president has made his priority quite clear. He wants the United States to acquire Greenland. He thinks it is in our best national security to do that,” she said.

The White House press secretary has said a European military mission taking shape in Greenland would not deter US President Donald Trump from pursuing control of the island.

“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,” Leavitt said in a White House press briefing.

Senior officials, including Trump, have argued that the strategically located island must come under U.S. control to protect national security interests and thwart Russian and Chinese aspirations in the region.

Danish foreign minister affairs Lars Løkke Rasmussen dismissed claims of a Chinese footprint on the island during a television interview on Wednesday.

“We haven’t seen Chinese warship in Greenland for a decade or so, there’s absolutely no Chinese investments in Greenland,” said Rasmussen on “Special Report” on Fox News, noting that during his tenure as prime minister, he “personally intervened” to prevent Chinese infrastructure projects to avoid a “Chinese footprint.”

Addressing specific US concerns about geopolitical rivals operating in the Arctic, the foreign minister firmly rejected the notion of Beijing’s influence on the territory.

“We definitely share the concern that [the] Arctic is not any longer a low-tension region. And, of course, we have to be aware of that. And that’s why we have invested almost $15 billion U.S. dollars last year in capabilities in Greenland.”

“You also don’t believe the U.S. is going to invade Greenland, do you?” the reporter asked Rasmussen.

“No. At least I do not hope so because that would be the end of NATO,” he replied.

“We all belong to NATO, and we think that our way forward should be that we, you know, combine forces. So, we share the concern to some extent, but not the methods, if I could put it that way,” he continued.

Rasmussen said a high-level working group would be formed “to explore whether there is a way forward” on security while respecting the territorial integrity of Greenland.

Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson said that his country had sent military personnel to Greenland on Wednesday for a Danish-led exercise, at the request of Denmark. They will be part of a group from other allied countries who will together prepare for an upcoming exercise, he added.

Germany’s federal ministry of defence said the deployment will focus on assessing how European nations could contribute to strengthening security, regarding Russian and Chinese threats in the Arctic.

The Netherlands will also contribute to the joint reconnaissance in Greenland in preparation for a military exercise in the Arctic region.