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NATO military planners said on Thursday afternoon that they have not yet received any direction regarding the framework deal agreed between the US and Denmark for Greenland, but stand ready to start planning as soon as they do so.
“We’re still at the very early stage,” Admiral Guiseppe Cavo Dragone, the chair of NATO’s Military Committee, told reporters after a Military Committee in Chiefs of Defence Session at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
“We are still waiting for direction and then from then on we will start doing our business, which is military planning,” he said.
Little has come out about the framework deal agreed on Wednesday night in Davos by Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, although it was satisfactory enough to the US President that he reneged on his threat to impose an additional 10% tariffs from 1 February on eight European nations that last week had sent troops to Greenland.
Both Rutte and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen have also said that the framework leaves the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the sprawling island, which belongs to the Kingdom of Denmark, unchanged.
Frederisken said in a statement earlier on Thursday that she aims to continue to engage in “constructive dialogue” with NATO allies on how to strengthen security in the Arctic, including through the US’s Golden Dome – a proposed multi-layer missile defence system – provided it “is done with respect for our territorial integrity”.
‘No one should doubt our readiness’
NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), meanwhile said that no planning had started either over a potential mission in the Arctic.
“We’ve never received political guidance to move out. We’re aware of discussions about this, of course, and therefore we’re doing some thinking about how we would organise for it,” General Alexus G. Grynkewich told reporters. “But no, no planning has started yet,” he said.
Talks of a possible mission first started after Trump ramped up his expansionist rhetoric over Greenland, the notion being that he might be appeased with a demonstration that the alliance takes the security of the High North and Arctic seriously.
SACEUR did flag that several NATO exercises are planned in the coming months in the Arctic, although none in Greenland specifically.
France requested on Wednesday that NATO look into a joint exercise in Greenland, adding that it would be ready to contribute.
Nonetheless, SACEUR sought to strike a reassuring tone, affirming that “no one should doubt our readiness” in the High North and Arctic.
“The Swedes, the Finns, all the northern countries, Norway, Denmark, have tremendous capabilities that they bring to bear every single day up there,” he added, noting that the militaries of the alliance’s two newest allies, Finland and Sweden, are “uniquely positioned to strengthen NATO’s northern flank and Arctic security”.
In terms of capabilities needed to secure the region further, he said that the alliance needs to be more forward-looking.
“Some of the things that we need to do in the Arctic to enhance our security are long lead items, including, you know, installation of new sensors and detection capabilities,” Grynkewich said.
