NATO Allies Discussed Sending Troops To Greenland After Trump Threats

Nato countries discussed deploying troops to Greenland in response to Donald Trump threatening to use the US military to seize the Danish island.

Germany was among dozens of European allies understood to have held informal talks over “what Nato troops would do” if the US president followed through on his threats, diplomatic sources told The Telegraph.

Questions were even raised over whether Article 5, the Western military alliance’s mutual defence clause, could be invoked in the event of an American invasion of a fellow Nato member state.

It came after Mr Trump started his second term in the White House by openly considering a forcible takeover of Greenland, an autonomous part of Denmark.

The US president has said it would be an “unfriendly act” if Copenhagen refused to give up the Arctic island while Russia and China both push to bolster their presence in the area.

Berlin’s involvement in the clandestine discussions has attracted criticism from some of Nato’s most ardent backers of Ukraine given the refusal of Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, to consider a deployment of troops there.

“Berlin doesn’t want to send troops to Ukraine because the situation is ‘too ambiguous’ but is openly flying kites about sending Nato troops to Greenland,” a Nato diplomat told The Telegraph. “It’s a moral compass without a needle.”

Robert Brieger, an Austrian general in charge of the EU’s military committee, said it would send a “strong signal” to deploy Brussels-led forces to Greenland.

Mr Trump’s remarks have prompted divisions among European nations over how to react without causing a transatlantic crisis.

Mr Scholz has been Europe’s most vocal critic of Mr Trump over Greenland, declaring that “borders must not be moved by force” as an international principle, addressing his words in English “to whom it may concern”.

But Mette Frederiksen, the Danish prime minister, has urged allies not to respond to the US president to avoid exacerbating the current tensions. She has welcomed US security concerns over the Arctic and promised to boost Denmark’s military presence on Greenland, but insisted the island is not for sale.

Ms Frederiksen has embarked on a European tour to privately secure the backing of EU member states and Nato allies, including a stop at Downing Street for talks with Sir Keir Starmer.

Denmark has unveiled plans to spend $1.5 billion (£1.2 billion) on two new inspection ships, two drones and two dog sled patrols to boost security on the island. It has also promised to upgrade an airfield to allow F-35 fighter jets to operate from Greenland.

France and Germany have openly touted sending European troops to join the Americans already stationed there, but some European leaders have suggested staging a more robust “fight back” against the US president’s overtures.

In discussions inside Nato’s headquarters in Brussels, member states have pondered whether Article 5, which states that a military attack on one ally is considered an attack on all, could be invoked if Mr Trump does sanction an invasion of Greenland.