BRUSSELS (Realist English). NATO said the United States, Denmark and Greenland would enter negotiations to step up efforts aimed at preventing Russia and China from gaining a strategic foothold in Greenland, as the alliance seeks to reinforce security in the Arctic.
The announcement followed talks in Brussels between NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who agreed that the alliance must increase its engagement in the region after US President Donald Trump backed away from earlier threats to seize the autonomous Danish territory.
“We’re working together to ensure that the whole of NATO is safe and secure and will build on our cooperation to enhance deterrence and defence in the Arctic,” Rutte wrote on X after the meeting. Frederiksen echoed the position, saying defence and security in the Arctic were “matters for the entire alliance.”
Officials said discussions included the need for a more permanent NATO presence in the Arctic, including around Greenland, though concrete planning for a dedicated NATO mission has yet to begin.
According to officials familiar with the talks, Denmark and the United States are also considering renegotiating a 1951 agreement governing US military deployments on Greenland. Such a move could allow Washington to expand its military footprint on the island, potentially including elements of Trump’s proposed “Golden Dome” missile defence system.
Trump has repeatedly cited alleged threats from Moscow and Beijing to Greenland — and to US national security more broadly — as justification for seeking greater American control over the island. While details of any new arrangements remain undisclosed, NATO officials confirmed that boosting Arctic security was a central part of the emerging framework.