Europe wants to appease Trump. NATO sends troops to Greenland

NATO plans to launch a military mission called Arctic Sentry in the coming days, the aim of which is to strengthen the Alliance's presence in the Arctic – according to unofficial information from PAP.

Reuters reported that the mission's aim is also to reduce tensions between the United States and European allies regarding Greenland.

The decision to launch the mission may be made this week, during the meeting of NATO defense ministers scheduled for February 12 in Brussels. The information was confirmed to Reuters by three European diplomats, a military official and a person familiar with the matter.

According to some media, another NATO mission, the Baltic Sentry, launched a year ago to protect critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, is to serve as a model for the new mission, which would include Greenland.

Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance, Mark Rutte, said in mid-January that NATO member states are discussing and working on the next steps to jointly ensure the security of the Arctic.

According to media reports, a group of European countries, led by Britain and Germany, are discussing plans to increase their military presence in Greenland to convince US President Donald Trump that Europe takes security in the Arctic seriously.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius assessed at the end of January in Berlin that the issue of the Arctic Guard in Greenland, with the possible participation of the United States, was developing favorably.

Greenland, which is an autonomous part of the Kingdom of Denmark, became the subject of a sharp diplomatic dispute in January between the United States, whose President Donald Trump declared his intention to take over the island, and Denmark and several supporting NATO countries.

Trump announced in the second half of January at the World Economic Forum in Davos that, despite his previous announcements, he would not introduce additional tariffs on goods from eight European countries that sent military delegations to Greenland.

From Brussels Łukasz Osiński (PAP)

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