WASHINGTON, June 3. /TASS/. The US Defense Department plans to include Greenland in the zone of responsibility of the US Northern Command (NORTHCOM), Politico reported, citing sources.

According to the newspaper, Greenland may be excluded from the US European Command’s (EUCOM) zone of responsibility this week. Politico noted that this could provoke a negative reaction from Denmark and other NATO allies.

"From the perspective of geography, the move makes some sense," a source told the newspaper. "From a political perspective, however, this clearly is going to worry Europe," he added. Another source told Politico that the US had not warned the Danish government of its plans.

The newspaper pointed out that the Northern Command is responsible for defending North America. This "switch in jurisdiction" of the island may allow the US to deploy additional radars of its Golden Dome missile defense shield.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that Greenland, an autonomous region within Denmark, should join the US. The island’s independence was one of the key topics in the elections to Greenland’s parliament in March. Polls show that most Greenlanders would like to join the US, but they have not yet decided how or when secession would take place. A January survey showed that only 6% of the population wants Greenland to become part of the US.

Meanwhile, the US head of state did not rule out the use of military force to resolve the issue. At the end of March, US Vice President JD Vance said that the American government expects Greenland to gain independence and join the US peacefully. According to Vance, Washington was not making military threats.