European military personnel have begun arriving in Greenland as high-level talks in Washington failed to bridge a widening gap between the United States and Denmark over the island’s future. The deployments come amid renewed American interest in Greenland and growing concern among NATO partners about stability in the Arctic.
European deployments take shape
Small reconnaissance and training detachments from several European countries — including France, Germany, Norway and Sweden — have been sent to Nuuk in recent days as part of missions described by participants as aimed at strengthening regional security and understanding local conditions. Germany said it would send a 13-person Bundeswehr team for a short reconnaissance mission, while France announced it would bolster its presence with additional land, air and naval assets.
White House says deployments won’t change U.S. plans; Denmark pushes back
The White House has been clear that the arrival of European troops will not alter President Donald Trump’s publicly stated interest in Greenland. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that troop movements “do not impact his goal of the acquisition of Greenland at all.” At the same time, Denmark’s foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, who met U.S. officials in Washington, strongly rejected the idea of a U.S. takeover, calling such a move “absolutely not necessary” and describing the discussions as reflecting a “fundamental disagreement.”
Strategic stakes and wider NATO response
Allies framing the deployments stress that the missions are about Arctic security, surveillance and training in a region where Russian and Chinese activity has raised alarm bells. Several smaller NATO members, including the Netherlands and Estonia, said they would join or stand ready to participate in exercises — a signal, diplomats say, that Greenland’s security matters to the wider alliance. The recent diplomatic meetings in Washington — which included U.S. officials and representatives from Denmark and Greenland — highlighted that, for now, the dispute over Greenland’s status will be handled through a mix of military-to-military cooperation and continued diplomacy.
