Greenland warns Washington of "red lines" as Russia’s Arctic presence grows

Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said that there are “red lines” that cannot be crossed in negotiations with the United States over the Arctic island, while acknowledging that security in the region must be strengthened amid increasingly assertive Russian activity, Reuters reports.

Nielsen spoke alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen during a joint discussion at Sciences Po University in Paris, where the two leaders met French President Emmanuel Macron to rally European support in response to US President Donald Trump’s push to take control of Greenland, a Danish territory for centuries.

Talks between Greenland, Denmark and the United States are expected as all sides seek to defuse the crisis. While Nielsen expressed hope for reaching some form of agreement, he stressed that Greenland’s core interests were non-negotiable. “We are under pressure, serious pressure. We are trying to push back from the outside. We are trying to handle our people who are afraid, scared,” he said, without elaborating on the specific red lines.

At the same time, Nielsen underscored the need for enhanced surveillance and security in the Arctic. “We need to do more surveillance and security in our region because of the way Russia acts now,” he said.

Washington’s demands regarding Greenland have shaken transatlantic relations and accelerated European efforts to reduce dependence on the United States, even as Trump last week withdrew tariff threats against Europe and ruled out taking Greenland by force.

Frederiksen said the crisis had revealed a strong degree of European unity. “What this has shown is that the majority of Europeans are on the same page,” she said, noting that Europe had been able to push back collectively against US pressure, including threats of additional tariffs.

Warning that the global order had fundamentally changed, Frederiksen questioned future US policy direction but stressed that transatlantic cooperation remained vital. “If we allow Russia to win in Ukraine, they will continue,” she said. “The best way forward for the United States, Europe is to stick together.”

The dispute has strained relations between Denmark and the United States, both founding members of NATO, and briefly raised concerns about the alliance’s cohesion. However, officials say the confrontation has since shifted to diplomatic channels.

Russia controls roughly half of the Arctic landmass and has, since 2005, reopened and modernized dozens of Soviet-era military bases across its northern territories and Arctic islands. Moscow has dismissed Western warnings about Russian and Chinese threats to Greenland, calling them an attempt to “whip up hysteria.”

By Vafa Guliyeva