Germany Trump insists on Greenland - Nato states send soldiers
With his claim to ownership of Greenland, US President Donald Trump is causing great unrest in Nato - now Germany and other European members of the alliance want to ensure greater security on the huge Arctic island.
16.01.2026, 15:15
SDA
A Bundeswehr reconnaissance team with 15 soldiers for possible military exercises was on its way to the capital Nuuk this afternoon and is due to arrive there in the early evening.
The question is whether the Arctic is safe and to what extent Germany and its NATO partners can contribute to this, said a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense in Berlin.
He mentioned options such as reconnaissance flights by the navy, the deployment of German frigates to monitor the sea area or the deployment of Eurofighters.
Paris and London are also sending soldiers
The reconnaissance mission announced on Wednesday by several NATO allies will be led by Denmark. Norway, Sweden, Finland, Great Britain, France and the Netherlands are among those sending soldiers.
The largely autonomous Greenland is part of Denmark's territory. US President Trump has repeatedly made it clear that America wants to incorporate the largely ice-covered island - something that the European NATO partners vehemently oppose.
Crisis talks between the USA, Denmark and Greenland had ended without any tangible results. Trump argues that Greenland must belong to the USA to prevent the Russians and Chinese from gaining additional influence in the region.
The US government was unimpressed by the deployment. "I do not believe that soldiers in Europe are influencing the President's decision-making process or that this has any impact on his goal of acquiring Greenland," said Trump's government spokesperson Karoline Leavitt.
Majority of Germans see Nato in danger
According to a survey, the majority of Germans believe that the US President's policies are jeopardizing the continued existence of NATO. 78 percent of respondents agree with this assessment, while 18 percent do not believe this. This is the result of the latest ZDF "Politbarometer". The rest of the respondents answered "don't know".
Trump's statements are causing a stir and concern, particularly because he has not yet ruled out military force to gain control over Greenland.
Italy, a founding member of NATO, does not want to deploy any soldiers for the exploratory mission with other European partner states. Defense Minister Guido Crosetto called this a "joke".
At the same time, the right-wing government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni presented its own Arctic strategy.
If the worst comes to the worst, EU states would have to come to Denmark's aid
A spokeswoman for EU foreign affairs representative Kaja Kallas made it clear: in the event of a violent conflict over Greenland, Germany and the other EU states could have to provide assistance at Denmark's request.
Greenland is part of the territory of the Kingdom of Denmark and is therefore in principle covered by the mutual solidarity clause in Article 42(7) of the EU Treaty, the spokesperson told the German Press Agency.
At the same time, she emphasized that the question of an application does not currently arise. In principle, a military confrontation is considered very unlikely because no one would presumably mess with the most powerful military power in the world.
Russian ambassador accuses NATO of militarizing the Arctic
The Russian ambassador in Denmark accuses NATO of wanting to arm itself in the Arctic in view of the US claims to Greenland.
NATO states, including Denmark, are using the spectre of a Russian or Chinese threat on a grand scale to militarize the Arctic, Vladimir Barbin told the Russian state news agency Tass.
Nato member Denmark is pursuing a confrontational approach "by drawing Nato into the Arctic".
Russia, with its long northern coastline on the Arctic Ocean, regards the Arctic as its sphere of interest. It is increasingly using the sea routes in the region and expanding its military presence.
Jokes about Iceland in a tense diplomatic situation
There is trouble in Iceland following an allegedly joking statement by US ambassador-designate Billy Long that the island in the North Atlantic could become a US federal state.
According to several media reports, Iceland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked the local US embassy for clarification.
The news portal "Politico" had previously reported that the former Republican congressman nominated as ambassador by US President Trump had joked that Iceland could become the 52nd US state - and that he himself could become its governor.
As a result, citizens in Iceland launched a petition calling on Foreign Minister Katrín Gunnarsdóttir to reject Long as ambassador.
