Italy rejects participation in Greenland mission as NATO presence expands

Italy’s Defence Minister Guido Crosetto has dismissed the idea of deploying Italian troops to Greenland, arguing that such a mission is unnecessary even as several European countries proceed with plans to send their own forces.

According to Italian media, Crosetto underscored the limited scale of the deployments being discussed for the Arctic island. He noted that the proposed contingents were far too small to have any meaningful impact. “What can one hundred, two hundred, or three hundred soldiers of any nationality accomplish? It sounds like the beginning of a joke,” he remarked.

Crosetto made clear that Italy will not participate in the mission and called for NATO to coordinate member states’ positions to avoid fragmented or symbolic actions.

His comments come amid heightened military activity by Denmark in and around Greenland as part of expanded NATO exercises. Denmark’s defence ministry announced on January 14 that the measures were prompted by growing security concerns, coinciding with renewed statements from US President Donald Trump about the possibility of acquiring the strategically important island.

As part of the operation, Danish and French special forces and reconnaissance teams reportedly landed overnight in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, while another aircraft reached the western part of the territory. Additional NATO personnel from the Netherlands, Canada, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Norway are expected to arrive on the island in the coming days.

The White House has said that the arrival of European troops will not influence President Trump’s plans regarding Greenland.

By Tamilla Hasanova