Several NATO nations are deploying small numbers of army personnel to Greenland to take part in joint workouts with Denmark as US President Donald Trump ramps up his threats to forcibly annex the Arctic island.
Trump’s declarations have thrown Europe’s decades-old, US-led safety alliance into disaster, by elevating the prospect of NATO’s largest and strongest member annexing the territory of one other.
Denmark, which is accountable for Greenland’s protection, has warned an assault on Greenland would all however finish NATO, and announced on Wednesday that it was increasing its army presence “in close cooperation with NATO allies.”
Germany, Sweden, France and Norway have all since confirmed they’re sending army personnel to Greenland this week for a joint train with Danish troops. Canada and France have additionally stated they plan to open consulates in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, within the coming weeks.
It shouldn’t be uncommon for NATO nations to send troops to practice in different NATO nations, and there was a years-long push by allies, together with the US, to ramp up joint workouts within the Arctic Circle. The US has about 150 troops stationed at its Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland.
But each the timing and symbolism of the most recent bulletins by European nations are a big present of solidarity at a time of unprecedented pressure inside NATO.
Trump has been extraordinarily vocal about his ambitions to seize management of the world’s largest island, together with by drive if vital, saying he was “going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not,” during a press conference with oil executives on Friday.
In a press release Wednesday, the German Defense Ministry stated it’s sending a “reconnaissance team” of 13 army personnel to Greenland Thursday for “an exploration mission” alongside different companion nations, at Denmark’s invitation.
Sweden additionally despatched an unspecified variety of troops to Greenland Wednesday at Denmark’s request, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced on X. The Swedish officers might be a part of a gaggle of troops from different allied nations who will collectively put together for an upcoming train known as Operation Arctic Endurance, he added.
French President Emmanuel Macron stated France may even take part in Operation Arctic Endurance. “The first French military units are already on their way. Others will follow,” he wrote on X.
Norway can also be sending two protection personnel to Greenland, a spokesperson for the Norwegian Ministry of Defense confirmed to NCS.
NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is a longstanding army alliance between 30 European states as nicely as the US and Canada.
It is constructed on the precept that an assault on anybody member should be thought of an assault on all of them, which is what makes US threats in opposition to Greenland – which is a part of NATO by its affiliation with Denmark – so extraordinary.
The Danish protection minister known as a possible US assault on Greenland “completely hypothetical.”
It is “unlikely that a NATO nation would attack another NATO country,” Troels Lund Poulsen advised reporters at a press convention on Wednesday.
News of European deployments to Greenland got here as Danish and Greenlandic officers met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance Wednesday, hours after Trump stated on Truth Social “anything less” than US management of Greenland is “unacceptable.”
“NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the UNITED STATES,” Trump wrote early Wednesday, arguing US management of Greenland would additionally profit NATO.
That assembly yielded few tangible outcomes, with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen noting that he and his Greenlandic colleague had “a frank but also constructive discussion” with Rubio and Vance, however {that a} “fundamental disagreement” persists.
Still, Rasmussen stated the events have agreed to kind “a high-level working group to explore if we can find a common way forward” that’s anticipated to meet within the coming weeks.
Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said on X Sunday she known as her Greenlandic and Danish counterparts to “reiterate Canada’s steadfast support for the Kingdom of Denmark and Greenland’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Anand stated she is going to journey to Greenland “in the coming weeks” to open Canada’s official consulate in Nuuk and convey Canada’s “deep commitment to regional security and protection” within the Arctic.
France will open a consulate in Greenland on February 6, a transfer that has been within the works since final 12 months, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot stated on RTL radio Wednesday, in accordance to Reuters information company.
Barrot urged the US to cease threatening Greenland, Reuters reported.
“Attacking another NATO member would make no sense, it would even be contrary to the interests of the United States … and so this blackmail must obviously stop,” Barrot stated on RTL.