Editor’s note: As warming seas open new routes and buried resources edge closer to reach, Greenland has moved from the margins of world affairs to the center of a growing geopolitical contest. This page examines why the Arctic territory now commands outsized attention — and why the debate around it matters far beyond the polar circle.
A “fundamental disagreement” over the sovereignty of Greenland was laid bare after senior officials from Denmark and Greenland met with their United States counterparts on Wednesday, as US President Donald Trump reiterated — five times in 10 days — his determination to bring the Arctic island under US control.
While a “high-level” working group will be formed as a result of the meeting for further negotiation, Denmark and other NATO allies in Europe have started strengthening military presence on the Danish autonomous territory in an effort to dissuade Trump’s intention of taking the Arctic island by force.
Analysts say the confrontation cuts at the heart of trans-Atlantic trust, with risks producing the opposite of what Washington claims to want.
“We didn’t manage to change the American position,” Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told reporters after he and Greenland’s Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt met US Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Wednesday.
“It’s clear that (Trump) has this wish of conquering over Greenland. We made it very, very clear that this is not in the interest of the Kingdom (of Denmark),” Rasmussen said. “Ideas that would not respect the territorial integrity of Denmark and the right of self-determination of the Greenland people are totally unacceptable.”
Before the meeting, Denmark’s Defense Ministry said the Danish Armed Forces are deploying capacities and units in connection with exercise activities from Wednesday, which will result in an increased military presence in and around Greenland of aircraft, ships and soldiers, including from NATO allies, in the coming period.
Meanwhile, Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on X that Swedish officers are arriving in Greenland to help prepare for the upcoming phases of Denmark’s Operation Arctic Endurance exercise.
Germany’s Defense Ministry confirmed that it would send 13 soldiers to Greenland on Thursday as part of a reconnaissance mission aimed at exploring possible military contributions to bolster regional security.
In addition, the United Kingdom’s defense secretary told reporters on Wednesday that the UK would take part in a Danish-led reconnaissance mission to Greenland ahead of a wider military exercise later this year.
A European diplomat said that troops from the Netherlands, Canada and France will also take part, but the deployment has not been formally approved by NATO, according to the Politico news outlet.
“For Europe, the first aim is to dispel the idea of using military means on Greenland,” said Cui Hongjian, a professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University’s Academy of Regional and Global Governance, about the military posture. “Because if the US were to seize Greenland by force, NATO could risk collapse, and the entire Western alliance might unravel.”
Cold wind chills alliance
