The White House on Thursday said a European military mission taking shape in Greenland would not deter President Donald Trump from pursuing control of the autonomous, mineral-rich Danish territory.
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen insisted meanwhile that “dialogue and diplomacy are the right way forward”, hailing the fact that a dialogue was now “underway”.
The developments came a day after a White House meeting failed to resolve “fundamental disagreement” over Greenland, which Trump insists Washington needs to ensure its security.
Two Danish troop transport planes landed in Greenland on Wednesday. Britain, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden have also announced the deployment of military personnel as part of a reconnaissance mission to Greenland’s capital Nuuk, under Denmark’s “Arctic Endurance” exercise organised with NATO allies.
The modest military reinforcements — 13 soldiers from Germany, for example — are meant to prepare armed forces for future exercises in the Arctic, according to European defence sources.
“A first team of French service members is already on site and will be reinforced in the coming days with land, air, and maritime assets,” French President Emmanuel Macron said.
Germany’s defence ministry said the aim was to “explore the framework conditions for possible military contributions to support Denmark in ensuring security in the region”.
But the White House dismissed this saying it would not deflect plans to take control of the island.
“I don’t think troops in Europe impact the president’s decision-making process, nor does it impact his goal of the acquisition of Greenland at all,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told a briefing when asked about the deployment.
Russia meanwhile dismissed as a “myth” it posed a danger to Greenland.
Part of Danish territory “has been included in Washington’s arbitrarily defined sphere of US interests,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
“Against this backdrop, the myth of some kind of Russian threat, rigorously promoted by Denmark and other members of the European Union and NATO for many years, is especially hypocritical.”
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