A new framework agreed with US President Donald Trump to push for Greenland will require North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries to quickly strengthen security in the Arctic, Mark Rutte, the organization’s secretary-general, told Reuters.
The NATO chief made the comments Thursday at the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, as Washington’s traditional European allies scrambled to respond to President Donald Trump’s sudden shift in attitude threatening NATO member Denmark’s acquisition of the semi-autonomous strategic Arctic island.
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“We will come together in NATO with our senior commanders and consider what needs to be done,” Rutte told Reuters.
“I have no doubt that we can do this fairly quickly. Certainly, I’d like to see it happen in 2026. I’d also like to see it happen as early as 2026.”
President Trump has stepped up threats in recent weeks to seize the island, saying it could be taken over by China or Russia, sending U.S.-Europe relations to their lowest point in decades and raising concerns about the survival of NATO.
But on Wednesday, the U.S. leader said he had agreed with Rutte on a “framework” for a future deal involving Greenland and the Arctic, unexpectedly dropping a threat to impose 10% tariffs on European countries that oppose gaining control of the region, and ruling out Rutte and the use of force to seize the island.
Trump also said “additional discussions” were taking place regarding Greenland regarding the Golden Dome missile defense program, a $175 billion system that would deploy U.S. weapons into space for the first time, but gave few details about the talks.
Rutte told Reuters he was confident that NATO allies outside the Arctic would contribute to this effort, and said the increased security focus on the Arctic would not come at the expense of supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia.
Rutte said mineral development on the resource-rich island was not discussed in his meeting with President Trump, adding that negotiations on the issue would continue between the United States, Denmark and Greenland itself.
Denmark: ‘Sovereignty negotiations are not possible’
Meanwhile, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a statement on Thursday that issues such as security, investment and economic issues could be discussed, but “sovereignty cannot be negotiated.”
Frederiksen said Arctic security was a NATO-wide issue and that it was “good and natural” for it to be discussed between Trump and Rutte.
He said he had “ongoing” discussions with Rutte, including before and after his meeting with Trump in Davos, and was “informed” that the NATO chief’s meeting with Trump did not touch on sovereignty issues, adding that only Denmark and Greenland can make decisions on issues that concern their countries.
Frederiksen said Denmark wants to continue a constructive dialogue with allies on strengthening Arctic security, including the US Golden Dome project, “provided we respect territorial integrity.”
In an interview with Fox News, Prime Minister Rutte was asked if Greenland would remain part of the Kingdom of Denmark under the framework agreement announced by President Trump, saying: “This issue no longer came up in my conversation with the president tonight.”
“He is very focused on what needs to be done to secure the vast Arctic region, where changes are currently occurring and where China and Russia are increasingly active, and how we can protect it,” Rutte said.
“That was exactly the focus of our discussion.”
NATO spokeswoman Alison Hart said Thursday that Rutte “did not propose any compromise to sovereignty during his talks with President Trump.”
He added that negotiations between Denmark, Greenland and the United States will continue with the aim of “ensuring that Russia and China never gain a foothold in Greenland, both economically and militarily.”
Germany supports talks
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed President Trump’s U-turn on Greenland and called on European countries not to hastily end the transatlantic partnership.
“We support talks between Denmark, Greenland (and) the United States based on these principles,” Merz said at Davos, aiming for closer cooperation.
“The good news is that we are taking steps in the right direction. We welcome what President Trump said last night. This is the right direction.”
Merz described the Arctic region as a “common transatlantic interest” and emphasized the need for European NATO countries to do more to ensure the security of the region.
“We will protect Denmark, Greenland and the north from the Russian threat,” he said.
“We support the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that are the basis of the transatlantic partnership.”
His comments came as EU leaders are reportedly scheduled to discuss a review of their relationship with the United States at an emergency summit on Thursday.
Despite President Trump’s abrupt reversal of his tariff threat, observers say European governments remain wary of a new change of heart from the U.S. president, seen as a bully that Europe needs to confront.
