European allies dispatch military reinforcements to Greenland

Sweden and a number of other NATO nations announced plans to send troops, military aircraft, and ships to Greenland after a Wednesday discussion at the White House failed to change Trump administration officials’ desire to acquire the Danish territory.

The meeting between officials from Greenland, Denmark, and the United States that “did not succeed in changing the American position” on possible annexation, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said in Washington, D.C. 

Danish Minister of Defense Troels Lund Poulsen warned during a separate press conference Wednesday that “security tensions have spread to the Arctic.”

“Therefore, in close dialogue with the Greenlandic government, we have agreed to increase our military presence and exercise activity in the Arctic and the North Atlantic in cooperation with NATO allies,” Poulsen said. 

He told the Danish news outlet Berlingske that increased ships, planes, and soldiers would all be necessary, and the outlet reported that Denmark will send the army's 1st Brigade.

Danish military officials declined to say which nations would contribute military capabilities. 

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson posted on X: “Several officers from the Swedish Armed Forces are arriving in Greenland today. They are part of a group from several allied countries. Together, they will prepare for upcoming elements within the framework of the Danish exercise Operation Arctic Endurance. It is at Denmark's request that Sweden is sending personnel from the Armed Forces.”

Germany and France said Wednesday that they will also send troops, and the U.K. is considering doing the same, Le Monde reported. The U.K. has signaled a willingness to join the current effort, according to a Bloomberg report this week, and Norway’s prime minister has also made a statement of support.

Last September, all of these nations participated in Arctic Light, a military exercise intended to strengthen the operational readiness of the Danish Armed Forces and NATO in and around Greenland.

President Trump’s determination to acquire Greenland “one way or another” has mystified allies in Europe and experts in the United States. Virtually all sides agree on the strategic significance of Greenland,  the need for increased NATO participation there, and the relative ease with which the United States could increase its military capability there under existing international agreements. 

Ian Lesser, a distinguished fellow at the German Marshall Fund, told reporters on Tuesday that while the United States could easily stage a military takeover of the country, actually running it would be considerably more difficult, especially without European support.

“From an infrastructure perspective, I think that would be quite a challenge, and the value wouldn't really align with the cost from the U.S. perspective,” Lesser said.

Sophie Arts, also with the German Marshall Fund, said Tuesday that while concerns about growing Chinese and Russian Arctic activity are very real, they are best served under the current arrangement, which respects the sovereignty of a key NATO ally, as well as the expressed will of the people of Greenland.

“The recent U.S. policy on Greenland has been quite counterproductive, as far as we can see,” Arts said.

Danish officials expressed hope that a planned high-level working group between the United States, Denmark, and Greenland will de-escalate tensions.