European troops from France, Germany, Norway and Sweden, are arriving in Greenland to bolster security after talks with Denmark, Greenland and the U.S. underscored what officials described as fundamental disagreements with the Trump administration.
"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 Wednesday in Washington to discuss U.S. President Donald Trump's intentions to take over the island to tap its mineral resources and protect the security of the Arctic region amid rising Russian and Chinese interest.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke 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.
