US President Donald Trump‘s recent attack on Venezuela has triggered a hypothetical snowstorm in the sphere of geopolitics. One important aspect that is now under the scanner is how the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will function if Trump shifts his focus to annexing Greenland.
Trump told reporters on Sunday that he would “talk about Greenland in 20 days”. He has maintained that Greenland should come under the jurisdiction of the US, and his latest threat came just a day after US forces abducted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife. Katie Miller, a senior Trump aide’s wife, also recently shared a post on X, featuring the map of Greenland in colours of the US’ national flag. She captioned the post with the single word – “soon”, triggering renewed speculations over what Trump’s next move could be.
Why will the spotlight shift to NATO’s functioning?
The US and Denmark are both part of NATO. Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark and has been a topic of continued interest to the US due to “national and strategic importance”.
If Trump annexes Greenland, it would be a direct violation of NATO’s founding principles. According to Article 5 of NATO’s charter, an armed attack on any NATO member country will be deemed an assault against all members and will compel other nations to take necessary actions to thwart the crisis.
NATO issues joint statement
Amid the ongoing crisis European countries issued a joint statement, reaffirming their commitment to protecting and safeguarding the sovereign interests of Denmark. “NATO has made clear that the Arctic region is a priority and European Allies are stepping up. We and many other Allies have increased our presence, activities and investments, to keep the Arctic safe and to deter adversaries. The Kingdom of Denmark – including Greenland – is part of NATO,” the statement read.
The statement came shortly after Denmark PM Mette Frederiksen remarked if US moves to annex Greenland, it would lead to the “end” of the alliance. “If the United States chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops,” said Frederiksen.
“That is, including our NATO and thus the security that has been provided since the end of the second world war,” she told Danish broadcaster TV2.
Notably, Trump has not ruled out using military force to take control of Greenland, and last month, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, who publicly supported annexation, was named as special envoy to the mineral-rich Arctic island.
The US contributes about 16% towards NATO’s defence budget, according to Reuters. Last year, Trump had also urged other members of the alliance to hike their share of the annual defence expenditure of 5% of their GDP, a target many countries called unreasonable.
Greenland’s strategic importance
Greenland’s strategic position between Europe and North America makes it a key site for the US ballistic missile defence system, and its mineral wealth is attractive, as Washington hopes to reduce its reliance on Chinese exports, according to Al Jazeera.
“We need Greenland…and Denmark is not going to be able to [protect our interests],” Trump had said.