European officials stressed Greenland is part of NATO territory, meaning it is covered by the alliance’s mutual defense pact, and that the U.S. already has the right to increase its military presence there under a longstanding treaty.

Tensions lowered after Trump and NATO boss Mark Rutte agreed in Davos in January that the United States, Denmark and Greenland would begin talks to resolve their differences and NATO would step up its role in Arctic security.

However, the trilateral talks have yet to yield an agreement and, at a NATO summit in Turkey in July, Trump restated his insistence that the U.S. should control Greenland.

Von der Leyen said Greenland’s future was for the people of Greenland and Denmark to decide and no one else.

“The Arctic has become one of the places where the tectonic plates of geopolitics collide. We have a direct stake in what happens here,” she said, adding that her Commission would set out a new EU Arctic strategy in the coming months.

While Denmark is a member of the EU, Greenland left the bloc in 1985. But its people, as Danish citizens, are also citizens of the EU.

The EU has long provided funding to Greenland, mainly to pay for fishing rights and support its education system. The $232 million investment package represents not only a big increase in funding but a broadening of the sectors that will receive EU cash, according to EU officials.

Russia and China are making a major Arctic shipping push as geopolitical tensions with the United States intensify. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping are deepening cooperation in the Arctic, with the Northern Sea Route emerging as a key strategic trade corridor between Asia and Europe.The development comes as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to focus on Greenland and the wider Arctic, where shipping routes, natural resources and military positioning are becoming increasingly important.Russia sees the Northern Sea Route as a critical economic and strategic corridor, while China has shown growing interest in Arctic trade and infrastructure. The expanding Moscow-Beijing partnership could challenge Western influence in the region and reshape the future of Arctic shipping.At the same time, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused NATO of militarizing the Arctic and warned that Moscow could respond to hostile actions with asymmetric measures. #Russia #China #Putin #XiJinping #Trump #Greenland #Arctic #ArcticShipping #NorthernSeaRoute #RussiaChina #NATO #Geopolitics #USRussia #USChina #GlobalTrade #ArcticRoute #WorldNews #InternationalNews #BreakingNews

Oneindia – English

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