JAKARTA – Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Mark Rutte on Monday said he and President Donald Trump had agreed on two “work streams” to ease tensions between the United States and the European Union regarding Denmark’s semi-autonomous territory, Greenland, one of which is NATO’s responsibility.

“Basically, what was discussed last week, and ultimately agreed upon, are two work streams going forward: one work stream is for NATO collectively, to take on more responsibility for Arctic defense,” Secretary-General Rutte told European Parliament members, launching Al Arabiya from Reuters (27/1).

“So one work stream is to look at how best collectively we can prevent Russia and China getting more access to the Arctic Region, that’s one work stream, NATO is clearly responsible here,” he added.

The second working track, which Rutte said NATO should not participate in, discusses the continuation of discussions between the US, Denmark and Greenland.

President Trump met with Secretary-General Rutte on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, as European tensions with President Trump over Greenland escalated.

“Based on the very productive meeting I had with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, we have established a framework for future agreements regarding Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic region,” President Trump wrote on Truth Social, launching The National.

“This solution, if implemented, will be a good solution for the United States, and all NATO countries. Based on this understanding, I will not impose tariffs scheduled to take effect on February 1,” he said.

This development comes shortly after President Trump delivered a speech in which he criticized Western countries that had sent their armed forces personnel to Greenland as a symbol of solidarity with fellow NATO member Denmark.

Western capitals have been on edge since Trump’s renewed threat to seize Greenland from Denmark. Any military move on the vast Arctic island could mean the break-up of the 32-nation military alliance.

“We need it for strategic national security and international security, this unsafe big island is actually part of North America, on the northern border of the Western Hemisphere – it is our territory,” President Trump said during his speech in Davos.

President Trump highlighted the presence of Russia and China in the Arctic region. He also threatened to impose tariffs on countries that support Denmark regarding its sovereignty in Greenland.

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