Denmark and Greenland have discussed the potential deployment of a NATO mission in Greenland and the Arctic, Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said on Monday.
Poulsen spoke after a meeting in Brussels with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt. He said the proposal had been noted by NATO and could form the basis of a future security framework in the region.
“The NATO Secretary General has taken note of this, and I believe we can now hopefully establish a framework for how this can be achieved,” Poulsen said, adding that the plan aligns with discussions held with Greenland’s government.
While details remain limited, the announcement signals that Denmark and Greenland are considering deeper involvement in Arctic defence planning. For now, all we can do is wait and see how this mission will unfold (or if it does). This is a developing news story…
Troels Lund Poulsen on X:
We are in a very difficult time.
Neither I nor my Greenlandic colleague Vivian Motzfeldt made any secret of this when we met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and EU Foreign Affairs Chief Kaja Kallas here in Brussels today.
Nevertheless, we had three constructive meetings where we discussed how we can work together to increase security in the Arctic. Denmark, in close cooperation with Greenland, has already agreed on investments worth DKK 88 billion that will increase security in the Arctic and the North Atlantic.
But more is needed. Also from our allies in NATO. Therefore, our joint message was that a joint NATO mission should be established in Greenland.
Later, Vivian Motzfeldt and I also met with the Nordic defence ministers, whose countries are among those contributing to the exercise currently taking place in Greenland.
The times call for unity. Thank you to our allies for standing up for Greenland and Denmark.