The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) responded to a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Jan. 21 by committing to ensure security in the Arctic, thus preventing China and Russia from establishing a stronghold in the region.
“The Secretary General had a very productive meeting with President Trump during which they discussed the critical significance of security in the Arctic region to all Allies, including the United States,” NATO spokesperson Allison Hart told The Epoch Times in an email on Jan. 21.
Details of the newly announced framework remain sparse, and Hart noted that talks are ongoing.
“Discussions among NATO Allies on the framework the President referenced will focus on ensuring Arctic security through the collective efforts of Allies, especially the seven Arctic Allies,” she said.
“Negotiations between Denmark, Greenland, and the United States will go forward aimed at ensuring that Russia and China never gain a foothold—economically or militarily—in Greenland.”
Trump met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Davos, Switzerland, earlier in the day to explore opportunities for the United States to acquire Greenland diplomatically.
Rutte told the crowd at the World Economic Forum that Trump was accurate about Chinese and Russian aggression in the region.
“When it comes to the Arctic, I think President Trump is right. Other leaders in NATO are right. We need to defend the Arctic,” Rutte, who previously served as the Dutch prime minister, said.
“We know that the sea lanes are opening up,” providing opportunities for Russian and Chinese activity in the area, he added.
Trump subsequently announced a prospective deal in a Truth Social post.
“This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations,” he wrote.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and special envoy Steve Witkoff were tasked with finalizing negotiations in the coming weeks.
Trump has since rescinded additional tariffs that he threatened to levy on eight NATO countries that strongly opposed the United States acquiring the Arctic island: Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and Finland. The tariffs were set to take effect on Feb. 1.
The president later said the deal was “complex,” but that it would last “forever,” during an interview with the financial news outlet CNBC.
Acquiring Greenland, considered a significant national security issue, has long been near the top of Trump’s priority list. He said the world’s largest island is key to the Trump administration’s plans for a Golden Dome missile defense system.
“NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the UNITED STATES,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Jan. 14. “Anything less than that is unacceptable.”
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt visited the White House on Jan. 14 for meetings with Vance and Rubio.
A bicameral group of nine Democratic members of Congress, as well as Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), traveled to Denmark on Jan. 17 for discussions about the semiautonomous territory’s future.
Danish explorers first visited Greenland in 1721, and the island has remained fully under Danish control since 1751. A parliament established in 1979 allowed for home rule, marking the first step toward self-governance for its approximately 56,000 residents. Then in 2009, it transitioned to self-government, significantly expanding its control over domestic affairs.
Correction: A previous version of this article misspelled the name of Allison Hart. The Epoch Times regrets the error.
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