On Tuesday 13 January, the German Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius, reported that “discussions” were under way between NATO allies “on which measures could make sense and what is needed” to provide greater protection for Greenland and the Arctic region in general.
When you look at the size of Greenland and its small population, it is “not an ordinary region” that requires a constant presence, but more of a patrol and surveillance capability, said Mr Pistorius at the end of a working meeting with the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, in Berlin. “It is not only in the interests of the US that Greenland stays safe but also of NATO and Europe”, he added, referring to close coordination with Denmark, which has sovereignty over the island.
Asked on several occasions to comment, Ms Kallas took the view that the current discussions on Greenland should not be publicised in the media, merely pointing out the existence of “tools” available to political leaders.
While the Trump administration maintains that Greenland is within the US sphere of influence and that the Europeans will be unable to defend the island against the appetite of Russia and China, Mr Pistorius indirectly warned against any monopolisation of the territory of an allied country by another allied country.
“The least we can say is that [in such a scenario] we’d have an unprecedented situation in the history of NATO and of any defence alliance”, he noted.
Taking part in the Global Europe Forum organised in Brussels by the Renew Europe group in the European Parliament, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte praised the role of US President Donald Trump in making Europeans aware of the need to invest more in their own security. He placed the Greenland issue in the wider context of the security of the entire Arctic region, where global warming is contributing to the periodic opening up of new shipping routes.
There is “complete agreement” among the seven Alliance countries present in the Arctic region, and indeed among all the other Allies, on the need to “collectively increase” capabilities in order to “ensure that the Arctic region is safe”, he said, declining to mention the discussions under way among the Allies. This was already the case with my predecessors, particularly during tensions between Greece and Turkey, he explained.
Asked by Stine Bosse (Renew Europe, Danish) to acknowledge that there was no imminent threat from Russia or China, Mr Rutte repeated that the issue was the security “not only of Greenland, but of the Arctic region”. “Maritime routes are opening up” throughout this area and "not only the Russians are active, but also China”, he pointed out. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)