Trump meets with NATO Secretary Mark Rutte amid talks with Russia

"And I’m just thinking... I didn’t give it much thought before but I’m sitting with a man that could be very instrumental," Donald Trump said Thursday when asked about his plans to annex Greenland. Next to him in the Oval Room: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte "You know, Mark, we need that for international security."

The president hosted the top military alliance official Thursday to discuss everything from NATO funding to peace talks in Ukraine, plus a thorny issue that crept onto the agenda during the round of press questions: the possible annexation of Greenland.

The island longed for by Trump is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, which is responsible for ensuring its security. Denmark is, along with the United States, one of the founding nations of NATO.

The secretary distanced himself from the controversial issue, stating that he did not want to "drag NATO in that." But he conceded that both the island and the entire "high north and the Arctic" are critical areas, not least because of growing Chinese and Russian influence in the area, as well as a "lack of icebreakers" from allies.

On the recent Greenlandic elections, Trump said he found the outcome favorable: "The person that did the best is a very good person, as far as we’re concerned." He then added that Denmark is "very far away" from Greenland, and questioned its claim to the territory: "What happens? A boat landed there 200 years ago and they say they have rights to it… I don’t know if that's true, I don’t think it is actually."

Rutte chose to remain silent, just as he did when Trump insisted on numerous occasions that Canada should become the 51st state. The northern neighbor has been part of the alliance since 1949.

Defense spending and peace in Ukraine

Rutte praised Trump for the "staggering" increase in European Union defense, asserting that his policies had boosted European engagement, and said he was willing to work with him to achieve a "reinvigorated" alliance under his leadership.

In both his first and second terms, the Republican has pressed European governments to increase their military spending. Asked if he expected more from NATO, he replied that "Mark" was on the right track.

The latter also congratulated the president for breaking "the dead lock" in Ukraine. "We’d like to see a ceasefire with Russia," Trump assured. Many details of a "final agreement," he claimed, such as discussions about territories, had already been discussed with Ukraine. He also insisted that the main thing was to achieve a truce and reiterated his flat out no to a possible Ukrainian membership of NATO.

Trump's words came as a US delegation was negotiating with Moscow. "We’re getting word that things are going ok in Russia," he shared.