European military personnel have begun arriving in Greenland as US President Donald Trump renews claims that Washington needs control of the Arctic island for security reasons.
A small French military contingent has arrived in Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, officials said, as several European countries deploy limited personnel as part of a so called reconnaissance mission. The deployment involves France, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands and the UK.
The move comes amid rising tensions after Trump repeatedly said the US needs Greenland, a semi autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the initial French deployment would soon be reinforced with “land, air, and sea assets”.
Senior French diplomat Olivier Poivre d’Arvor described the operation as a political signal.
“This is a first exercise… we’ll show the US that Nato is present,” he said.
Poivre d’Arvor said the French contingent consisted of 15 personnel, arriving hours after Denmark’s and Greenland’s foreign ministers travelled to Washington for talks with US Vice President JD Vance.
Following the meeting, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said discussions were constructive but confirmed there was a “fundamental disagreement” between the two sides. He later criticised Trump’s renewed bid to buy Greenland.
Trump doubled down on his position, telling reporters in the Oval Office, “we need Greenland for national security”.
While he did not rule out the use of force, Trump said late on Wednesday he believed an agreement with Denmark could be reached.
“The problem is there’s not a thing that Denmark can do about it if Russia or China wants to occupy Greenland, but there’s everything we can do. You found that out last week with Venezuela,” he said.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday that the arrival of European troops would not affect the president’s stance.
“Nor does it impact his goal of the acquisition of Greenland at all,” she said.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Poland would not join the deployment but warned that any US military intervention would be disastrous.
“A conflict or attempted annexation of the territory of a Nato member by another Nato member would be the end of the world as we know it and which for many years guaranteed our security,” he said.
Russia’s embassy in Belgium said it was watching developments with “serious concern”, accusing Nato of increasing its Arctic military presence “under the false pretext of a growing threat from Moscow and Beijing”.
The European deployment involves only a few dozen personnel and forms part of Danish led joint exercises known as Operation Arctic Endurance. It remains unclear how long the troops will remain.
Finland said it was sending 2 military liaison officers on what it described as a fact finding mission.
“Right now we are not ruling anything out but we are not specifically considering anything,” said Janne Kuusela, head of policy at Finland’s defence ministry.
Germany confirmed it was sending an A400M transport aircraft to Nuuk with 13 soldiers, though officials said they would remain in Greenland only until Saturday.
Danish defence officials said the government had agreed with Greenland to increase the military presence around the island to strengthen Nato’s footprint in the Arctic.
In his new year address to France’s armed forces, Macron said Europe had a special responsibility to Greenland “because this territory belongs to the European Union and it’s also one of our Nato allies”.
The US already operates a military base in Greenland with up to 150 personnel and can deploy more forces under existing agreements with Copenhagen.
Sweden’s prime minister said Swedish army officers arrived in Nuuk on Wednesday, while Norway, the UK and the Netherlands also confirmed limited deployments.
Downing Street said the UK shared Trump’s concerns about “the security of the High North” and said the move aimed to deter Russian and Chinese activity.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said defence of Greenland was a shared responsibility across Nato.
Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the aim was to rotate forces and work towards a more permanent allied military presence.
Copenhagen has rejected Trump’s justification for seeking control of Greenland. Rasmussen said there was no “instant threat” from Russia or China that Denmark and Greenland could not manage.
A Democratic led US delegation is due to visit Denmark on Friday for talks with lawmakers.
Speaking to Fox News after talks with Vance and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Rasmussen said: “The president’s ambition is on the table. Of course we have our red lines. This is 2026, you trade with people but you don’t trade people.”
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen said the territory was facing a geopolitical crisis and made its position clear.
“Greenland does not want to be owned by the United States. Greenland does not want to be governed by the United States. Greenland does not want to be part of the United States,” he said.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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