NATO said Tuesday that “planning is underway” for an Arctic mission, a development that comes weeks after US President Donald Trump stirred tensions within the alliance by suggesting the United States should control Greenland to address perceived security threats from Russia and China.
Martin O’Donnell, a spokesman for NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, told reporters the effort will be a “NATO enhanced vigilance activity” intended to “further strengthen NATO’s posture in the Arctic and High North.” He said planning has only just started and provided no further details.
It is not yet clear where any exercises or operations would take place. Denmark is currently leading a NATO exercise in Greenland called Operation Arctic Endurance.
Germany’s Spiegel newsmagazine first reported details of the new planning, saying NATO’s commander, US General Alexus G. Grynkewich, had ordered concrete plans to begin for an operation dubbed “Arctic Sentry.” Spiegel reported that NATO defense ministers could meet in Brussels in the coming weeks to consult on preliminary plans.
The announcement follows Mr. Trump’s remarks in the run-up to the Davos meeting of the World Economic Forum, when he alluded to using force to acquire Greenland, an island with strategic value in the Arctic. The White House did not explicitly retract his comments, and the president later reiterated that the US would “have” Greenland “one way or the other.”
European allies faced a delicate task: affirm support for Denmark’s sovereignty over Greenland while avoiding further confrontation with Washington. After appearing in Davos and meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump said he had reached a “framework” deal to protect US interests and appeared to step back from overt threats of force. Rutte said he and Trump discussed how NATO allies could work together to ensure Arctic security, but details of any agreement remained unclear.
Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, warned Monday that the United States is still seeking “paths to ownership and control over Greenland.” Denmark said senior officials from the US, Denmark and Greenland began diplomatic talks last week to “discuss how we can address American concerns about security in the Arctic while respecting the Kingdom’s red lines.”
Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez