NATO member scoffs:

Europeans’ Greenland mission “is a joke”

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17.01.2026 14:23
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US President Donald Trump's plans for Greenland may put the NATO defense alliance to the test. Germany and other European members want to show that they are well capable of providing greater security on the vast Arctic island and have launched so-called reconnaissance missions. But not all NATO members are enthusiastic about the "Arctic Endurance" mission.

It is being led by Denmark. Norway, Sweden, Finland, Germany, the UK, France, and the Netherlands, among others, are sending soldiers. The government in Washington was unimpressed by the deployment. "I don't think soldiers in Europe influence the president's decision-making process or that it has any impact on his goal of acquiring Greenland," Trump's spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday.

US President Donald Trump does not want to be dissuaded from his plans for Greenland.
US President Donald Trump does not want to be dissuaded from his plans for Greenland.(Bild: AFP/Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Italy does not want to send soldiers
But even the European NATO countries are apparently not convinced by the measures. Italy has made it clear that it will not send any soldiers. Defense Minister Guido Crosetto spoke on Friday of the plan as a "joke." "I wonder what they are supposed to do there. Go on a trip? Fifteen Italians, fifteen French, fifteen Germans: to me, that sounds like the beginning of a joke. I am in favor of expanding a world that is already too fragmented, not dividing it into nations," said Crosetti, who belongs to the right-wing Fratelli d'Italia party led by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

German Bundeswehr soldiers on a reconnaissance mission in the Greenlandic capital Nuuk
German Bundeswehr soldiers on a reconnaissance mission in the Greenlandic capital Nuuk(Bild: AFP/ALESSANDRO RAMPAZZO)

Russia as the beneficiary of the dispute?
The Greenland dispute could turn out to be a stroke of luck for Russia. "Some Russians hope that US claims will further divide transatlantic relations," wrote Russia expert Hanna Notte on X. Moscow views the Greenland conflict with schadenfreude and senses a favorable opportunity in terms of Ukraine. The other players are distracted, she said. Foreign policy expert Grigory Karasin of the Federation Council in Moscow hoped that "the paranoid political and military support of the 'coalition of the willing' for Volodymyr Zelensky will fade into the background."

Trump threatens punitive tariffs in case of resistance
However, the White House appears to be completely indifferent to the clear signals from Greenland, Denmark, and the EU. Trump is now even threatening countries that oppose his claim to the Arctic island with punitive tariffs.

This article has been automatically translated,
read the original article here.

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