Rivet Joint surveillance aircraft of the Royal Air Force. Photo: Jules Annan / BACKGRID / Backgrid UK / Profimedia
Denmark is proposing that NATO begin surveillance operations in Greenland, with support from the Arctic territory, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said Monday after a meeting with Alliance Secretary General Mark Rutte, according to The Guardian.
“We made this proposal, the secretary general took note of it and I think now we can, hopefully, define a framework in which it can be implemented,” Troels Lund Poulsen told Danish television.
Donald Trump has tested the transatlantic alliance by threatening to seize control of Greenland “one way or another”, as European countries line up to counter Washington's plans for the vast autonomous territory under Danish sovereignty.
The leaders of Germany and France denounced as “blackmail” threats made over the weekend by Donald Trump, who spoke of imposing new tariffs against countries that oppose his plans for the Arctic island.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte wrote on X that he had spoken with Denmark's defense minister and Greenland's top diplomat about “the importance of the Arctic – including Greenland – to our collective security”.
“We will continue to work together as allies on these important topics,” Rutte said.
For his part, Sweden's Defense Minister Pål Jonson suggested a NATO mission “could be a way forward” as Trump insists more is needed to counter threats posed by China and Russia to Greenland.
“We are analyzing what is the most constructive way in which we can contribute to this effort to strengthen the Alliance's presence in the Arctic region,” Jonson said after a meeting of Nordic defense ministers held at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
