Both Canada and Greenland, which is included in NATO as the territory of founding member Denmark, were raised during an informal press conference in the Oval Office. In the meeting, Trump also applied new pressure on the trans-Atlantic alliance to spend more on its collective defense.

Joint statement issued after US president reiterated his belief that Washington will eventually control the Arctic island

In a rare show of unity, party leaders say they "cannot accept the repeated statements about the annexation of Greenland."

The outgoing prime minister of Greenland on Thursday said he would summon party leaders to strengthen their rejection of US President Donald Trump’s plan to annex the island territory, following his most recent comments on the issue.