European troops in Greenland won’t change Trump’s mind, White House says

The deployment of European troops in Greenland doesn't alter U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to get his hands on the Arctic island, the White House said. "I don't think troops in Europe impacts the president's decision-making process or impact his goal of the acquisition of Greenland at all," White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday when asked whether recent announcements of European boots on the ground would alter Trump's calculus. This week, several European nations including France, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Norway and the Netherlands said they would send troops to Greenland to take part in a Danish military exercise — with some of them already there. Estonia is participating in the planning and "is ready to put boots on the ground if requested." NATO is not involved in the military exercise, which is an inter-governmental drill. Advertisement The U.S. president has repeatedly threatened the use of military force to seize the Arctic island, which he claims is at risk of falling into the hands of Russia and China. After meeting with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House on Wednesday, the Danish foreign minister said Denmark and Greenland “still have a fundamental disagreement” with Washington. French President Emmanuel Macron told the country's armed forces earlier on Thursday that France would deploy land, air and naval assets to Greenland in the coming days. "France and Europeans must continue, wherever their interests are threatened, to be present without escalation, but uncompromising on respect for territorial sovereignty," he said. The U.K. and Norway are publicly backing a push to set up a NATO mission dubbed Arctic Sentry that would increase the alliance's footprint and reassure Trump of Europe’s commitment to security in the region.

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