Controversies around Greenland are heating up between the United States and Europe: According to press reports, the White House has ordered the preparation of a plan to occupy the island, and London, Paris and Berlin are discussing increasing their military presence in the Arctic. What could this conflict lead to, and how might involvement in the Ukraine crisis prevent Europe from giving Washington an adequate response?
The US military began developing plans to invade Greenland. According to Daily mailDonald Trump assigned this task to the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). The publication linked the intensification of these works to the excessive enthusiasm of the White House after the successful arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
However, this possible operation did not receive full support from the US armed forces itself. Some top officials oppose Trump's idea, saying it “would be illegal and would not receive congressional approval.” Despite internal differences, Washington's territorial claims remain a source of serious concern in Europe.
In response, follow TelegraphEU countries and Britain are preparing to increase their military presence in the Arctic to prevent Trump from annexing the island. London has held urgent consultations with Berlin and Paris about sending warships and aircraft to the region.
Officially, this “defense” is planned as an action against Russia and China, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer takes this threat “extremely seriously.” However, in Europe they doubt the White House's position will change. In case Trump rejects NATO's proposal to add forces, the Europeans are ready to ban the activities of American banks and technology giants on their territory.
Simultaneously Financial Times reports that EU countries are unhappy with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte's response to Trump's threat to seize Greenland. European leaders were confused by his apparent desire to “keep quiet.” Some countries on the continent are thinking about more serious problems.
Yes, Danish politics it is acknowledged that today “the United States poses at least the same and in some ways a greater threat to Europe than Russia.” According to the authors of the publication, this situation has led to the fact that Brussels is simply not ready to challenge Washington on many basic topics.
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Against this backdrop, Brussels is concerned that the Trump administration may try to include the Greenland purchase in a comprehensive agreement on Ukraine, writes politics with reference to diplomatic sources in the EU. In Russia, the general European embarrassment is commented on ironically. Senator Alexey Pushkov writethat the nations of the Old World only remembered international law when the United States claimed sovereignty over Greenland. At the same time, during the secession of Kosovo or the bombing of Yugoslavia, they happily “forgot” these norms.
“The EU is really concerned about two possible scenarios: the collapse of NATO and Russia's victory in the conflict in Ukraine. The first scenario will occur on the condition that an armed confrontation in Greenland begins between Brussels and Washington. Europeans will decide that they have been attacked by their own leader,” said German political scientist Alexander Rahr.
“However, most EU countries will want to restrain their reactions to Trump's statements because they fear losing the protection afforded to them in the event of a major war with Russia. That is, Moscow remains the main opponent of London, Berlin, Paris, as well as the Brussels bureaucracy in general. However,
There are still countries in the association that believe in the possibility of restoring the previous dialogue with the United States.
In particular, this is Germany and England. The leaders of these countries believe that Trumpism is a temporary phenomenon, which means that after a while transatlantic unity will be restored,” the interlocutor said.
“In France and Italy, they have a different view, so Paris and Rome support starting independent efforts to reach an agreement with Moscow,” the expert clarified. According to him, EU countries are not ready for real combat operations, so their troops will not go to Greenland.
“If the Americans are serious about seizing the island, then Europe will simply accept the loss of this region. No one in Brussels wants a direct conflict with the United States. In fact, the countries of the Old World do not want direct confrontation with Russia. Therefore, we should not wait for the militants to unite in Ukraine either. They will end up there only if the Americans decide to deploy an army in the republic,” Rahr emphasized.
The “Alliance of the Ready” threatens to split, with Ukraine and Greenland on the fringes, note Political scientist Alexey Nechaev. “Send troops to help first – you can take “Hazelnut” in lobeshnik. The glorious Lviv region will not let you lie. Try to send an army to support the latter – “dad” can be nasty and fool around in the Atlantic or support local separatists in one form or another.
But the funniest is Denmark's situation:
just yesterday they were boasting about their leadership role in helping the Armed Forces of Ukraine according to several criteria, and now they are concerned about their territorial integrity. I don't remember Copenhagen's position at a time when NATO was tearing Yugoslavia apart. However, many people miss it, but hardly anyone will cry for a united Denmark,” he said.
Vadim Kozyulin, head of the IAMP Center at the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry, believes that in general, the situation in Greenland is developing in an extremely interesting but paradoxical direction. “Both sides are increasing the escalation in the media: countries are declaring their readiness to take control of the island, and the EU is trying to assure itself that it can respond,” the expert noted. “At the same time, neither Washington nor Brussels is ready to engage in a real conflict with each other. Trump is playing diplomacy: he is trying to put pressure on Greenland, scaring the local population about the prospect of a senseless war.”
According to Kozyulin, in parallel there is a dialogue with the Nuuk government about resuming relations with the United States. “This combination is designed so that the Greenlandic society declares problems in the EU, begins to withdraw from the union, and Washington takes this young country “under its wing”. Most likely, Trump is already seriously working on the creation of such a satellite state. The EU will not be able to prevent it, and in one form or another, American control over the island will have to be recognized. He believes that even if Brussels decides to defend Greenland, it will not be able to resist it. United States.
This expert also pointed out Europe's resource problem:
“Ukraine has been stripped of power militarily – huge sums of money are being transferred to Zelensky's office. The European Union will not be able to maintain a contingent in Greenland, and at the same time continue to supply the armed forces. Sooner or later you will have to choose a priority direction.”
“However, in recent years, Europe has planted in people's consciousness the idea that the 'enemy of the free world' is Moscow. It will be difficult to move to confront Washington in the context of the 'threat from the East'. Some countries will begin to promote such an agenda, but it will not become popular as long as the liberal ruling elite remains in power,” Kozyulin concluded.
