A Royal Danish Air Force (RDAF) Lockheed C-130J Gigantic Hercules is parked on the tarmak at Nuuk worldwide airport on January 15, 2026 in Nuuk, Greenland, the day after it arrived transporting Danish protection pressure personnel.
Alessandro Rampazzo | Afp | Getty Images
Plenty of NATO participants are deploying tiny numbers of troops to Greenland for a joint protection pressure exercise, within the wake of disturbing talks on the White Dwelling about the U.S. desire to annex it.
Denmark, which is guilty for Greenland’s protection, Germany, France, Sweden and Norway delight in all confirmed plans to send protection pressure personnel to the carefully populated island this week.
U.S. President Donald Trump has renewed his sights on taking the island following an bold protection pressure intervention in Venezuela to depose its president, Nicolás Maduro, on Jan. 3.
The troop deployment comes at the moment after the distant places ministers of Denmark and Greenland held talks with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and U.S. Secretary of Impart Marco Rubio on the White Dwelling.
Talking to journalists alongside Greenland’s Vivian Motzfeldt, Danish International Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said there had been a “fundamental disagreement” with the U.S., nonetheless said the hourlong assembly became as soon as “frank but constructive.”
Vance and Rubio didn’t straight commentary after the assembly. Trump, then again, urged journalists within the Oval Space of commercial: “We need Greenland for national security.”
The U.S., Denmark and Greenland agreed to set a excessive-degree working neighborhood to chat about the formulation forward for the island, even though, as had been broadly expected, the three countries had been unable to search out a diplomatic resolution to defuse tensions.
(L/R) Danish International Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and Greenland’s International Minister Vivian Motzfeldt keep up a correspondence at some stage in a news conference on the Danish Embassy in Washington, DC, on January 14, 2026.
Oliver Contreras | Afp | Getty Images
Sooner than the assembly, Denmark announced plans on Wednesday to present a snatch to its protection pressure presence in and round Greenland, announcing the exercise actions might well possibly contain guarding nationwide infrastructure, deploying fighter airplane and conducting naval operations.
Germany’s Defense Ministry said it might well possibly deploy a “reconnaissance team” of 13 personnel to Nuuk, Greenland, on the invitation of Denmark.
The mission, which is in a web online page online to rob put Thursday by Saturday, is designed to search out the framework for probably protection pressure contributions to be obvious security within the placement, the German Defense Ministry said, including maritime surveillance capabilities.
‘Operation Arctic Persistence’
French President Emmanuel Macron said in a social media post that France might well even rob part within the joint exercises organized by Denmark in Greenland, relating to it as “Operation Arctic Endurance.”
“The first French military elements are already on their way. Others will follow,” Macron said Wednesday on X, constant with a Google translation.
Read extra
Swedish Top Minister Ulf Kristersson said several officers from Sweden’s protection pressure had been scheduled to arrive in Greenland from Wednesday.
“They are part of a group from several allied countries. Together, they will prepare for upcoming elements within the framework of the Danish exercise Operation Arctic Endurance,” Kristersson said by X, constant with a translation.
Danish Top Minister Mette Frederiksen, who has previously warned that a U.S. assault on Greenland would model the discontinuance of NATO, thanked Rasmussen and Greenland’s Motzfeldt for countering the American claims on the talks.
“It was not an easy meeting,” Frederiksen said in a Facebook post Thursday, constant with a translation.
Greenland residents and political leaders delight in publicly rejected suggestions by U.S. President Donald Trump that the Arctic island might well possibly change into fragment of the US.
Anadolu | Anadolu | Getty Images
“A working group is now being established to discuss how security in the Arctic can be strengthened. However, that does not change the fact that there is a fundamental disagreement because the American ambition to take over Greenland is intact,” Frederiksen said.
The Danish top minister also talked about that a choice of NATO allies had been for the time being contributing to joint exercise actions in and round Greenland. “The defense and protection of Greenland is a common concern for the entire NATO alliance,” she added.
Denmark: ‘We now had been stepping up’
Idea polls delight in shown that Greenlanders overwhelmingly oppose U.S. preserve an eye fixed on, while a solid majority toughen independence from Denmark.
Denmark has pledged to enhance effectively being-care spending and infrastructure investments in most up-to-date months, while also making an strive to ranking to defuse tensions with the Trump administration by investing in Arctic protection, including the acquisition of 16 extra F-35 fighter jets.
“We have been stepping up. We have allocated almost $15 billion within just the last couple of years to capabilities in the High North. We have been pushing within the Arctic NATO states for bigger NATO engagement,” Rasmussen said Wednesday.
“We didn’t manage to change the American position. It’s clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland,” he persevered.
“We made it very, very clear that this is not in the interest of the kingdom.”