European troops arrive in Greenland as talks with US highlight
'disagreement' over island's future
[January 15, 2026]
By EMMA BURROWS, CLAUDIA CIOBANU and DANIEL NIEMANN
NUUK, Greenland (AP) — Troops from several European countries, including
France, Germany, Norway and Sweden, are arriving in Greenland to help
boost the Arctic island's security after talks between representatives
of Denmark, Greenland and the U.S. on Wednesday highlighted “fundamental
disagreement” between the Trump administration and European allies.
“The first French military elements are already en route” and “others
will follow,” French President Emmanuel Macron announced Wednesday, as
French authorities said about 15 French soldiers from the mountain
infantry unit were already in Nuuk for a military exercise.
Germany will deploy a reconnaissance team of 13 personnel to Greenland
on Thursday, its Defense Ministry said.
Denmark announced it would increase its military presence in Greenland,
with NATO allies joining them, just as the Danish and Greenlandic
foreign ministers met with White House representatives on Wednesday in
Washington to discuss U.S. President Donald Trump's intentions to take
over the island in order to tap its mineral resources and protect the
security of the Arctic region amid rising Russian and Chinese interest.
On Thursday, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the
intention was “to establish a more permanent military presence with a
larger Danish contribution,” according to Danish broadcaster DR. He said
soldiers from several NATO countries will be in Greenland on a rotation
system.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, flanked by his Greenlandic
counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt, said Wednesday that a “fundamental
disagreement” over Greenland remains with Trump after they held highly
anticipated talks at the White House with Vice President JD Vance and
Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rasmussen added that it remains “clear that the president has this wish
of conquering over Greenland.”
“We really need it,” Trump told media in the Oval Office after the
meeting. “If we don't go in, Russia is going to go in and China is going
to go in. And there's not a thing Denmark can do about it, but we can do
everything about it."
Trump said he had not yet been briefed about the contents of the White
House meeting when he made his remarks.
In Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, local residents told The Associated Press
they were glad the first meeting between Greenlandic, Danish and
American officials had taken place but suggested it left more questions
than answers.
Several people said they viewed Denmark’s decision to send more troops,
and promises of support from other NATO allies, as protection against
possible U.S. military action. But European military officials have not
suggested the goal is to deter a U.S. move against the island.
Maya Martinsen, 21, agreed and said it was “comforting to know that the
Nordic countries are sending reinforcements” because Greenland is a part
of Denmark and NATO.
The dispute, she said, is not about “national security” but rather about
“the oils and minerals that we have that are untouched.”
More troops, more talks
On Wednesday, Poulsen had announced a stepped-up military presence in
the Arctic “in close cooperation with our allies,” calling it a
necessity in a security environment in which “no one can predict what
will happen tomorrow.”
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Fishermen load fishing lines into a boat in the harbor of Nuuk,
Greenland, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
“This means that from today and in the coming time there will be an
increased military presence in and around Greenland of aircraft, ships
and soldiers, including from other NATO allies,” Poulsen said.
Asked whether the European troop movements were coordinated with NATO or
what role the U.S.-led military alliance might play in the exercises,
NATO referred all questions to the Danish authorities.
However, NATO is looking at how members can collectively bolster the
alliance’s presence in the Arctic, according to a NATO official who was
not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Rasmussen, the Danish foreign minister, announced the creation of a
working group with the Americans to discuss ways to work through
differences.
“The group, in our view, should focus on how to address the American
security concerns, while at the same time respecting the red lines of
the Kingdom of Denmark,” he said.
Commenting on the outcome of the Washington meeting on Thursday, Poulsen
said the working group was “better than no working group” and “a step in
the right direction.” He added nevertheless that the dialogue with the
U.S. did not mean “the danger has passed.”
Line McGee, a 38-year old from Copenhagen, told AP that she was glad to
see some diplomatic progress. “I don’t think the threat has gone away,”
she said. "But I feel slightly better than I did yesterday.”
Speaking to FOX News Channel’s Special Report on Wednesday after the
White House talks, Rasmussen rejected both a military takeover and the
potential purchase of the island by the U.S. Asked whether he thinks the
U.S. will invade, he replied: “No, at least I do not hope so, because, I
mean, that would be the end of NATO.”
Rasmussen said Greenlanders were unlikely to vote for U.S. rule even if
financial incentives were offered “because I think there’s no way that
U.S. will pay for a Scandinavian welfare system in Greenland, honestly
speaking.”
“You haven’t introduced a Scandinavian welfare system in your own
country,” he added.
Trump, in his Oval Office meeting with reporters, said: “We’ll see how
it all works out. I think something will work out."
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Niemann reported from Copenhagen, Denmark, and Ciobanu from Warsaw,
Poland.
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