Troops from several European nations, including France, Germany, Norway and Sweden, are deploying to Greenland to strengthen security on the Arctic island after high-level talks revealed sharp disagreements between the Trump administration and European allies over Greenland’s future.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced Wednesday that the first French military units were already en route, with additional forces to follow. French officials confirmed that about 15 soldiers from an elite mountain infantry unit have arrived in Nuuk to participate in military exercises.
Germany’s Defense Ministry said it will send a 13-member reconnaissance team to Greenland on Thursday. Denmark also confirmed it is expanding its military presence on the island, supported by NATO allies, as part of a plan to establish a more permanent security footprint.
The deployments come as Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers met Wednesday in Washington with U.S. officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, to discuss President Donald Trump’s stated intention to take control of Greenland. Trump has argued that acquiring the island is necessary to secure Arctic resources and counter growing Russian and Chinese influence in the region.
Following the meeting, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, appearing alongside Greenland’s Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt, said a “fundamental disagreement” remains with the U.S. administration over Greenland’s status. Rasmussen added that Trump continues to express a desire to take control of the island.
Speaking later in the Oval Office, Trump reiterated his position. “We really need it,” he told reporters. “If we don’t go in, Russia will go in and China will 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 on the details of the White House discussions when he made the remarks.
In Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, residents welcomed the fact that talks had taken place but said the meeting appeared to leave key questions unresolved.
