BERLIN, January 16. /TASS/. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said the United States is unlikely to seize Greenland, adding that this step would have consequences for NATO.
"I don’t think it will come to this," Pistorius said in an interview to the ZDF TV channel. "I cannot tell future, and, possibly, it may turn out that I was mistaken, for better or worse."
At the same time, the German defense minister said "voices of those who categorically oppose this can be heard in the US, too."
In his words, a US military attack on a NATO territory would be "an unprecedented step that would undoubtedly have consequences for the alliance."
"I don’t think that it would be right to constantly focus on ‘what-ifs.’ We simply need to do our job," Pistorius said, adding that he sees no risk of a confrontation with the US, and views Trump’s threats as "a part of mentality."
On January 15, Germany’s Bundeswehr has sent an advance team of specialists to Greenland to assess the situation on the ground. On Wednesday evening, the German Defense Ministry announced that it would send 13 troops to the island to study "the framework conditions for a potential military contribution to support Denmark in ensuring security in the region."
Earlier, the Bild newspaper reported that the first servicemen from European countries have arrived in Greenland amid statements by US President Donald Trump about the need to annex the island to the US. In addition to Germany and Denmark, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden will participate in the mission to deploy troops on the island. The mission is being coordinated from Copenhagen, not through NATO, of which all these countries are members. Preparations for the deployment of troops, which have been underway for the past few days against the backdrop of Trump's statements, have been kept secret, Bild said. The newspaper noted that the first servicemen were sent to the island only after talks between Danish and Greenlandic representatives and the US failed on Wednesday.
Trump has repeatedly stated that Greenland should join the US. During his first presidential term, he proposed buying the island, and in March 2025 he said he was confident it could be annexed. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller previously questioned Denmark’s right to control Greenland and said it should become part of the US.
Greenland is Denmark's autonomous territory. In 1951, Washington and Copenhagen signed the Greenland Defense Agreement in addition to their NATO alliance commitments. Under the treaty, the US committed to defend the island from potential aggression.