Germany backs NATO Arctic patrols as US’s Greenland push unsettles allies

Germany’s defence minister has said the Bundeswehr, along with the armed forces of other European Nato members, could increase their presence in the Arctic amid security challenges posed by Russia and China and renewed US claims over Greenland.

Speaking in Berlin, Boris Pistorius made the comments during talks with the EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, Caliber.Az reports via German media.

Pistorius said the Arctic required stronger protection, pointing in particular to Russia’s growing military footprint in the region. He stressed the strategic importance of sea routes between Greenland, Iceland and the United Kingdom for security in the North Atlantic, warning that in the event of a conflict, Russia could use them to “isolate America from Europe and vice versa”.

He underlined that Arctic security was not only in the interests of the United States, but of Nato as a whole. The minister backed the idea of a joint Nato mission to monitor Arctic waters.

“This is about surveillance and patrols – about seeing what is happening under the water, on the water and in the air,” Pistorius said.

“It is about intelligence-gathering and regular exercises on site to demonstrate that we are present.”

His remarks come against the backdrop of renewed statements by US President Donald Trump, who has again suggested the United States could take control of Greenland, citing threats from Russia and China in the Arctic.

Pistorius said any such move by Washington would be unprecedented. “At the very least, it would be a truly unprecedented situation in the history of Nato and in the history of any defence alliance in the world,” he told a news conference.

President Donald Trump said on January 9 that his administration will take action on Greenland “whether they like it or not,”

By Aghakazim Guliyev