German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that the United States will not annex Greenland, noting that such a move would have consequences for the North Atlantic Alliance.
“I do not think it will come to that“, Pistorius said in an interview with ZDF. “I cannot see into the future and maybe I will be wrong - for better or for worse”, he added, calling for greater restraint. At the same time, the German Defense Minister stressed that “there are also voices in the United States that are categorically opposed to this“.
A US military attack on NATO territory, he said, would be “an unprecedented event in history and would certainly have consequences for the alliance“. “I think it is wrong to constantly dwell on “what if“we just have to do our job, plain and simple“, the minister said. At the same time, Pistorius said that he saw no risk of confrontation with the United States and viewed US President Donald Trump's threats against Greenland as “part of the mentality“.
On January 15, the Bundeswehr sent its first troops to Greenland - a forward team of specialists to assess the situation on the ground. On Wednesday evening, the German Ministry of Defense announced that it would send 13 soldiers from the Bundeswehr to the island for the time being in order to study the “framework conditions for a possible military contribution to support Denmark in ensuring security in the region“.
According to the “Bild“ newspaper, the first troops from European countries have arrived in Greenland amid Trump's statements about the need for the island to join the United States. In addition to Germany and Denmark, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden will also participate in the mission to deploy troops to the island. Pistorius explained that any further increase in the German contingent would depend on a request from Denmark and a decision by NATO.
Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles did not rule out the possibility of sending troops to Greenland, BNR reported. She explained that the role of a potential Spanish participation would be to strengthen surveillance of the island. Without specifying the number and composition of a possible Spanish mission, the military minister stressed that the dispute over the Danish autonomous territory is more political than military.
Defense sources quoted by the publication "El Pais" indicate that Madrid may send officers to prepare for the possible participation of Spanish military personnel in exercises on the island.
The Spanish minister's comments come after the clearly stated intention of France, Sweden, Germany, Norway, Finland and the Netherlands to send troops to Greenland to jointly explore ways to cooperate and increase security in the region.
At the same time, Margarita Robles recalled that Washington has a large base on the island and there can be no question of an invasion. According to her, the question is rather whether the United States, in violation of international law, could decide to increase its presence and thus take over Greenland.
Foreign Minister José Manuel Álvarez also commented on the topic. According to him, the security of the Arctic is key for Europe, but Greenland belongs to its people - the Greenlanders and the Danes.
The White House said yesterday that the meeting between representatives of the United States and Denmark and Greenland was productive and warned at the same time that the deployment of European soldiers in Greenland will not change the intention of US President Donald Trump to take control of the island, world agencies quoted by BTA reported.
President Trump, a Republican, said that Greenland should become part of the United States, and he did not rule out the use of force to annex the island to the United States.
"I do not think that European soldiers can influence the decisions made by the president, nor his goal of acquiring Greenland," said White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt during a press conference.
Levitt also said that meetings of a working group between the United States and Denmark on Greenland will be held every two to three weeks.
US President Donald Trump and his administration have warned Iran that if the killings of protesters continue, there will be serious consequences, world agencies reported, citing White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt.
She reported that Iran had apparently canceled the execution of 800 protesters scheduled for yesterday.
Levitt added that Trump was closely monitoring the situation in Iran and that all options remained on the table.
The spokeswoman also confirmed that Trump had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who, according to the “New York Times“ asked him not to intervene militarily in Iran, Agence France-Presse reported.