Europe Sides with Denmark
U.S. Military Bases Also on the Table
Claims have emerged that U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks about annexing Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, are linked to the deadlock in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
On January 17 (local time), Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), told the Financial Times (FT), "President Trump is diverting attention away from the real threat of Russia's invasion of Ukraine," adding, "He is using Greenland to distract Europe."
He said, "Instead of focusing on how to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table, I am concerned that global attention is being drawn to Greenland, a friendly U.S. ally that poses no threat to either Europe or the United States," and added, "Russia would want Greenland to become the iceberg that sinks NATO."
According to Politico Europe, there are signs in Europe of moves to side with Denmark in response to President Trump's threats, and some are even discussing ending support for U.S. troops stationed in Europe or reclaiming control over military bases. Ben Hodges, former U.S. Army commander, warned that the loss of European bases would be "catastrophic" for U.S. forces.
Jens Stoltenberg, another former NATO Secretary General, also said in an interview with Germany's Spiegel, "We must take the U.S. statement about control over Greenland seriously," and added, "It is difficult to assert that the United States will remain in NATO."
Current Secretary General Mark Rutte is avoiding public comment, and in the European Parliament, it was stated that "the Secretary General does not comment on internal alliance discussions" regarding this matter.
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