Germany sends soldiers – no solution to the Greenland crisis

Conflict over Greenland

Germany sends soldiers – no solution to the Greenland crisis

The crisis talks between the USA, Denmark and Greenland end without an agreement. In response to the conflict, NATO partners are sending soldiers to investigate the situation – including the Bundeswehr.

In the still unresolved Greenland conflict, Germany and other European NATO states are sending soldiers to the huge Arctic island. The Ministry of Defense in Berlin informed about the deployment of an exploration team with 13 Bundeswehr members immediately after a crisis meeting between Denmark and Greenland and the US government. According to Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, “fundamental” differences of opinion emerged in Washington. US President Donald Trump wants to take over Greenland.

The aim of the Bundeswehr operation from Thursday morning was to “explore the framework conditions for possible military contributions to support Denmark in ensuring security in the region,” the ministry said. For example, it concerns maritime surveillance capabilities. The “multinational exploration” is taking place at the invitation of Denmark and will run from January 15th to 17th.

With the support of Sweden and Norway, the Danes increased their military presence on Greenland, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark and therefore also of NATO, on Wednesday. The USA maintains the Pituffik Space Base military base there based on agreements with the Danes – but that is not enough for Trump.

For days, the US President has been repeating his claims to ownership and justifying them with security interests, such as a threat from China and Russia. Anything other than a Greenland in the hands of the United States would be “unacceptable,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform the morning before the crisis meeting – and thus also set the direction for the appointment.

According to Rasmussen, the Danish and Greenlandic delegation traveled to Washington after “a series (…) of notable public statements on the security of Greenland and the Arctic.” “Our goal was to find a common way to increase this security,” said the Danish foreign minister after the meeting with his US counterpart Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance, which was also attended by Greenland’s foreign policy minister Vivian Motzfeldt.

There were initially no concrete statements from the US side about the conversation. When asked by journalists in the White House, Trump said at a press conference that was actually about milk in schools that it would remain to be seen what happens to Greenland. He will be informed about the meeting after the press conference.

Rasmussen spoke of forming a higher-level working group to see if a common path could be found that takes into account both American security interests and the Kingdom of Denmark’s red lines. This working group should meet for the first time within weeks.