Denmark says Greenland has become a frontline as Trump revives seizure threats

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that Denmark is facing a “decisive moment” over the future of Greenland after United States President Donald Trump again threatened to take control of the Arctic territory by force.

Speaking ahead of meetings in Washington, DC, starting Monday on the global competition for key raw materials, Frederiksen said bluntly that “there is a conflict over Greenland”.

“This is a decisive moment”, she said during a debate with other Danish political leaders, stressing that what is at stake goes far beyond the island itself.

In a separate Facebook post, Frederiksen said Denmark was “ready to defend our values, wherever it is necessary, also in the Arctic”.

“We believe in international law and in peoples’ right to self-determination,” she added.

Germany and Sweden quickly moved to back Denmark as Trump doubled down on his claims to the self-governing Danish territory.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson condemned what he called Washington’s “threatening rhetoric” after Trump said the US was “going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not”.

“Sweden, the Nordic countries, the Baltic states, and several major European countries stand together with our Danish friends,” Kristersson told a defence conference in Sälen, attended by NATO’s top US general.

A US takeover of mineral-rich Greenland, Kristersson warned, would be “a violation of international law, and risks encouraging other countries to act in exactly the same way”.

Germany echoed that position ahead of talks in Washington. Before meeting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul held consultations in Iceland focused on what Berlin called the “strategic challenges of the Far North”.

“Security in the Arctic is becoming more and more important,” Wadephul said alongside Iceland’s Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir, adding that it is “part of our common interest in NATO”.

Behind the scenes, European military planners appear to be preparing for a darker scenario. The UK’s Telegraph reported that military chiefs from Britain and other European countries are drawing up contingency plans for a possible NATO mission in Greenland.

According to the report, early-stage talks are under way between the UK, Germany, France and others on measures that could include deploying troops, warships and aircraft to deter threats in the Arctic, including from Russia and China.

UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander framed such discussions as routine.

“It’s becoming an increasingly contested geopolitical region,” she told Sky News. “You would expect us to be talking to all our allies in NATO about what we can do to deter Russian aggression in the Arctic Circle.”

Belgium’s Defence Minister Theo Francken went further, suggesting NATO should launch a formal Arctic operation to address US security concerns.

“We have to collaborate, work together and show strength and unity,” Francken said in an interview with Reuters, calling for “a NATO operation in the high north”.

He pointed to NATO’s Baltic Sentry and Eastern Sentry missions as possible templates for what he dubbed an “Arctic Sentry”, combining multinational forces with drones, sensors and other surveillance technology.

Trump has repeatedly argued that US control of Greenland is essential for national security, citing what he describes as growing Russian and Chinese military activity in the Arctic. He has dismissed temporary arrangements, insisting that Washington needs permanent ownership.

Greenland, which was a Danish colony until 1953, gained home rule in 1979 and has gradually expanded its autonomy. While debates over eventual independence continue, opinion polls consistently show that Greenlanders overwhelmingly oppose becoming part of the United States.