Overview
- Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, President Trump said the United States will secure Greenland “one way or the other,” claiming Russia or China would otherwise take control and dismissing the island’s defenses as “two dog sleds.”
- Greenland’s coalition government stated the territory must be defended under NATO and said it can in no way accept a U.S. takeover, reinforcing local leaders’ insistence on Greenlandic self-determination.
- Danish and European officials warned that any U.S. military move against the Danish realm would imperil the alliance, as NATO’s secretary-general elevated the Arctic on the agenda and an EU commissioner said such an action would mean the end of NATO.
- European capitals are weighing Arctic deterrence steps, with reported discussions of a NATO mission and U.K. talks on potential deployments, while Germany and others signal readiness to bolster regional security.
- China rejected Trump’s rationale as a pretext, and U.S. claims of Russian and Chinese naval activity near Greenland were challenged by Denmark and independent tracking data, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio prepares meetings with Danish officials this week.