One European diplomat told Axios that Denmark was widely seen as America’s closest ally in the European Union, and that no one could have imagined it’d be the first Trump would pick a

The U.S. ally is signaling its willingness to negotiate military and economic matters related to the island but not to sell it.

Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has described U.S. control of Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, as an "absolute necessity". Axios said that the Danish government wanted to convince Trump that his security concerns could be addressed without claiming Greenland.