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Germany plans to propose the creation of a joint NATO mission to monitor and protect security interests in the Arctic region in an effort to ease tensions with the United States, which has voiced ambitions to annex Greenland, Bloomberg reports, citing two people familiar with the government’s position.
According to the sources, the proposed mission, tentatively dubbed “Arctic Sentry,” could be modeled on NATO’s “Baltic Sentry” mission, launched a year ago to safeguard critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. The new mission would cover Greenland.
Bloomberg notes that while U.S. President Donald Trump has long contemplated making Greenland part of the United States, his focus on the self-governing Danish territory has intensified in recent days following a U.S. operation to seize Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro.
That operation has heightened concerns among allies about Trump’s willingness to use military force to achieve foreign policy objectives. His inflammatory rhetoric on Greenland has triggered a flurry of diplomatic activity, as officials seek to clarify his intentions.
On Sunday, German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil, who is traveling to Washington this week for a meeting of finance ministers convened by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, said that the principles of international law apply to everyone, including the United States. He stressed that decisions about Greenland’s future should be made solely by Denmark and Greenland, and that territorial sovereignty and integrity must be respected.
