Germany, France, Sweden, and Norway have deployed military personnel to Greenland as part of a NATO reconnaissance mission aimed at assessing security conditions in the strategically important Arctic region. The deployments follow a high-level meeting in Washington between U.S., Danish, and Greenlandic officials that failed to resolve disagreements over the island.
Germany’s defence ministry stated that the 13-strong Bundeswehr team aimed to help “explore the framework conditions for possible military contributions to support Denmark in ensuring security in the region.”
Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said that “Russia and China are increasingly using the Arctic for military purposes, thereby jeopardising the freedom of transport, communication and trade.”
Meanwhile, Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen confirmed that U.S. ambitions to take control of Greenland “remain intact” as she announced the establishment of a “working group” to discuss Arctic security measures but stressed that the “fundamental disagreement” with the U.S. persists.
French president Emmanuel Macron confirmed that French troops are already en route to Greenland, with additional personnel to follow. NATO officials described the mission as a reconnaissance effort “to explore options for ensuring security in light of Russian and Chinese threats in the Arctic”.
Russia, however, has voiced serious concern over NATO’s presence. The Russian embassy in Belgium, where NATO is headquartered, accused the alliance of building up its military presence under the “false pretext” of threats from Moscow and Beijing.
