A small French-led European NATO contingent, joined by Germany, the UK, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and the Netherlands, has arrived in Greenland for a reconnaissance mission amid growing geopolitical tensions.
US President Donald Trump has renewed his assertion that the United States “needs Greenland for national security,” refusing to rule out coercive measures.
Denmark and Greenland have rejected any transfer of sovereignty, warning that a dispute between NATO allies over the Arctic island would be disastrous for transatlantic unity.
A limited European military deployment has reached Greenland’s capital Nuuk as NATO allies seek to signal their presence in the Arctic, while US President Donald Trump continues to press for American control over the semi-autonomous Danish territory.
French officials confirmed that an initial contingent of 15 personnel had arrived as part of a Danish-led exercise known as Operation Arctic Endurance. The mission also includes contributions from Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. French President Emmanuel Macron said the deployment would soon be reinforced with additional “land, air, and sea assets.”
Senior French diplomat Olivier Poivre d’Arvor described the move as a clear political message. “This is a first exercise… we’ll show the US that NATO is present,” he said.
The deployment comes against the backdrop of renewed claims by Trump that Greenland is vital to US national security. Speaking at the Oval Office, he insisted, “We need Greenland for national security,” and suggested Denmark would be unable to prevent Russia or China from occupying the island without American protection.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, who met US Vice-President JD Vance in Washington this week alongside Greenlandic representatives, acknowledged constructive talks but stressed a “fundamental disagreement” remained. Copenhagen has firmly rejected any suggestion of selling Greenland, with Rasmussen declaring, “You trade with people, you don’t trade people.”
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen was even more explicit, stating that the island “does not want to be owned or governed by the United States” and would choose Denmark if forced to decide between the two.
European leaders warned that any attempt by one NATO member to annex the territory of another would shatter the alliance. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called such a scenario “the end of the world as we know it.”
Although the current NATO presence amounts to only a few dozen personnel, Denmark said it plans a rotational and more permanent footprint in Greenland to strengthen Arctic security. The US already maintains a military base on the island, but European governments view the new initiative as a reminder that the region’s future cannot be decided unilaterally.
Russia, meanwhile, accused NATO of militarising the Arctic under the “false pretext” of countering threats from Moscow and Beijing, underscoring the broader global stakes surrounding the world’s largest island
