Arctic island dispute
Trump: Troop withdrawal from Europe depends on Greenland deal
Updated July 9, 2026 – 4:22 a.mReading time: 1 min.
Donald Trump’s planned troop withdrawal is causing nervousness in Europe. According to the US President, how big it will be also depends on another point of contention.
US President Donald Trump has promised an even larger troop withdrawal from Europe and has made this dependent on an agreement on the future of Greenland. “I haven’t made a final decision yet. A lot will depend on Greenland depend,” he replied on the presidential plane Air Force One when asked whether he would withdraw more troops. “Maybe I will.”
Shortly after his arrival at the NATO summit in Ankara Trump had declared that the Kingdom Denmark The island belonging to the island should be controlled by the United States in the future. A senior US official had previously made it clear that a takeover of Greenland was from the point of view of the USA is the only way to address security risks around the island in the long term. Denmark’s head of government Mette Frederiksen sharply rejected the demand.
Trump has openly threatened to take over the strategically important Arctic island several times – and in doing so not only snubbed NATO partner Denmark, but also raised doubts about the unity of the military alliance. His reasoning: The territory that belongs to Denmark would otherwise not be there Russia and China sure – and therefore not the USA either.
