Greenlandic officials said Denmark had launched military exercises in the harsh Arctic terrain and was strengthening NATO’s presence in the region to bolster the security of Europe and the North Atlantic.
Denmark and Greenland said the move was aimed at reinforcing the island's defences.
Danish authorities have dispatched a detachment of advance troops to Greenland to prepare for an expanded deployment of Danish forces and allied troops, officials said.
The announcement came as the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland were due to meet in Washington with US Vice President J.D. Vance.
The move follows a series of statements by US President Donald Trump asserting that the United States should take control of Greenland, a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark.
Trump has also called on NATO to pressure Denmark to withdraw its forces from Greenland, arguing that the Danish military presence is insufficient in the face of what he described as growing threats in the Arctic.
The US president has cited warnings from Denmark’s intelligence services about rising military ambitions by Russia and China in the region. In a social media post, Trump linked to an article on the issue published by the conservative website Just the News.
Trump has repeatedly said the United States needs Greenland "for the purpose of national security," adding that any arrangement leaving the island outside US control would be "unacceptable."
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said on Wednesday that Warsaw would do everything in its power to prevent a split in NATO over escalating tensions surrounding Greenland.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki said on Tuesday that Greenland is a strategically important territory that requires broader discussion among allies, voicing hope the dispute will be resolved diplomatically between the United States and Denmark.
Trump said on Sunday that the United States would take control of the Arctic island "one way or the other."
The European Union’s Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius has said that a US military takeover of Greenland would effectively spell the end of NATO.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP