UK, Germany eye troop deployment to Greenland for Arctic security

European countries, led by the UK and Germany, are considering increasing their military presence in Greenland to signal to US President Donald Trump that they are committed to Arctic security and to counter US threats of taking control over the self-governing Danish territory.

Germany plans to propose a NATO mission named “Arctic Sentry” to protect the region, according to sources, Bloomberg reports. 

The mission would be modeled on NATO’s “Baltic Sentry,” launched last year to safeguard critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has also called on allies to strengthen their security presence in the High North, recently consulting with leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on the matter.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul is set to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio this week to discuss Greenland and NATO’s potential role in ensuring stability in the region.

Although Trump has long floated the idea of bringing Greenland into the United States for national security reasons, his focus on the self‑governing Danish territory has sharpened in recent days following a US military raid to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. 

That operation has heightened anxiety among allies about Trump’s willingness to use force to pursue his foreign policy objectives. His fiery comments about Greenland have triggered a surge of diplomatic activity as officials work to understand his intentions.

On January 9, speaking about Greenland, Trump told reporters, “I would like to make a deal, you know, the easy way. But if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way.”

For now, Denmark is pinning hopes on a diplomatic visit to Washington this week to temper Trump. Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers, Lars Lokke Rasmussen and Vivian Motzfeldt, plan to address what Copenhagen describes as persistent factual errors and overstated security claims fueling the debate.

By Jeyhun Aghazada