Denmark Deploys Additional Troops to Greenland Amid Tensions with US

Denmark Deploys Troops to Greenland Amid US President’s Threats

A substantial contribution of Danish troops has been dispatched to Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory in the Arctic region. According to reports, 58 soldiers landed in Kangerlussuaq on Monday evening as part of ongoing multinational military exercises dubbed Operation Arctic Endurance. The deployment comes hours after US President Donald Trump declined to rule out using military force to take control of Greenland.

Trump made this statement during an interview with NBC News on Monday, responding to a question about whether he could seize the island by force. Earlier, Trump told Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Storer in a text message that he no longer felt obliged to “think purely of Peace” after not being awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.

Denmark has expressed openness to a beefed-up US military presence in Greenland, but has repeatedly stated that the territory is not for sale. The Danish government has also emphasized that any move to take the island by force would spell the end of NATO.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte met with Danish Minister of Defence Troels Lund Poulsen and Greenland’s minister of foreign affairs, Vivian Motzfeldt, on Monday to discuss proposals for boosting Arctic security. The sides discussed the importance of the Arctic to “our collective security” and Copenhagen’s growing investments in its defence capabilities.

The US president’s actions have strained US-European relations, with fears about the potential disintegration of NATO. The European Union is set to convene an emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss its response to the crisis, including retaliatory tariffs and the activation of the bloc’s anti-coercion mechanism.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed the “need to unequivocally respect the sovereignty” of Denmark and Greenland in a meeting with US diplomats. The EU remains committed to working closely with the United States, NATO, and other allies to advance shared security interests.

Source: Al Jazeera