A new framework agreed with United States President Donald Trump amid his push to acquire Greenland will demand NATO countries ramp up Arctic security swiftly, the organisation’s Secretary-General Mark Rutte has told the Reuters news agency.
The NATO chief made the comments at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland on Thursday, as Washington’s traditional European allies scrambled to respond to Trump’s sudden about-face on his threats to acquire the strategic Arctic island, a semi-autonomous territory of NATO member Denmark.
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“We will come together in NATO with our senior commanders to work out what is necessary,” Rutte told Reuters.
“I have no doubt we can do this quite fast. Certainly, I would hope for 2026; I hope even early in 2026.”
In recent weeks, Trump has ramped up his threats to seize the island, citing the threat it could be acquired by China or Russia, plunging US-European relations to their lowest point in decades, and prompting fears for the survival of NATO.
But on Wednesday, the US leader unexpectedly dropped his threat to impose 10 percent tariffs on European countries opposed to his bid to take control of the territory and ruled out the use of force to seize the island, saying he and Rutte agreed on a “framework” for a future deal involving Greenland and the Arctic region.
Trump also said “additional discussions” on Greenland were being held concerning the Golden Dome missile defence programme, a $175bn system that will put US weapons in space for the first time, although he offered few details on the talks.
Rutte told Reuters that he was confident that non-Arctic NATO allies would contribute to the effort, and that an enhanced security focus on the Arctic would not come at the expense of support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.
Minerals exploitation on the resource-rich island had not been discussed in the meeting with Trump, Rutte said, adding that negotiations on the issue would continue between the US, Denmark and Greenland itself.
Denmark ‘cannot negotiate on sovereignty’
Meanwhile, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a statement on Thursday that while issues such as security, investment and economic matters could be discussed, “we cannot negotiate on our sovereignty”.
Frederiksen said Arctic security was a matter for all of NATO, and that it was “good and natural” that it be discussed between Trump and Rutte.
She said that she had spoken with Rutte “on an ongoing basis”, including before and after he met Trump in Davos, and said she had “been informed” that the NATO chief’s talks with Trump had not touched on issues of sovereignty, adding that only Denmark and Greenland could make decisions on issues concerning themselves.
Frederiksen said that Denmark wanted to continue engaging in constructive dialogue with allies on strengthening security in the Arctic, including the US Golden Dome programme, “provided that this is done with respect for our territorial integrity”.
Asked in an interview with Fox News whether Greenland would remain part of the kingdom of Denmark under the framework deal Trump announced, Rutte said the issue “did not come up anymore in my conversations tonight with the president”.
“He’s very much focused on what do we need to do to make sure that huge Arctic region, where change is taking place at the moment, where the Chinese and Russians are more and more active, how we can protect it,” said Rutte.
“That was really the focus of our discussions.”
NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said on Thursday that Rutte “did not propose any compromise to sovereignty during his meeting with President Trump”.
She added that negotiations between Denmark, Greenland and the US would continue, aimed at “ensuring that Russia and China never gain a foothold – economically or militarily – in Greenland”.
Germany supports talks
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, welcoming Trump’s U-turn on Greenland, urged Europeans not to be too quick to write off the transatlantic partnership.
“We support talks between Denmark, Greenland [and] the United States on the basis of these principles” aiming for closer cooperation, Merz said in Davos.
“It is good news that we are making steps into that right direction. I welcome President Trump’s remarks from last night – this is the right way to go.”
Merz stressed the need for European NATO countries to do more to secure the Arctic region, describing it as “a common transatlantic interest”.
“We will protect Denmark, Greenland, the north from the threat posed by Russia,” he said.
“We will uphold the principles on which the transatlantic partnership is founded, namely sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
His comments came as EU leaders were reportedly set to discuss reviewing their ties with Washington at an emergency summit on Thursday.
Despite Trump’s sudden about-face on his tariff threats, European governments remained wary of another change of mind by a US president who was increasingly seen as a bully that Europe needed to stand up to, observers say.
