BRUSSELS, February 12. /TASS/. Deploying additional troops in Greenland is impractical, as maintaining a military presence on the island is too expensive, former NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller said.
"Permanent deployments [of US troops in Greenland] are expensive and not warranted by the current circumstances," she told Politico.
On the other hand, a number of NATO officials believe that allocating funds and military equipment to Greenland would be "a fair trade" that could help "prevent the alliance from collapsing." Other NATO officials believe that as part of the Arctic Sentry mission, countries could send aircraft and naval patrols to Greenland and establish a permanent command there.
Greenland is part of Denmark as an autonomous territory. In 1951, Washington and Copenhagen signed the Greenland Defense Agreement in addition to their NATO alliance commitments. Under this treaty, the US undertook to defend the island from possible aggression. It is home to the US Pituffik Space Base, which performs missile warning and Arctic zone control tasks and employs about 150 US servicemen.
On January 31, the US administration announced the start of negotiations on the future ownership of Greenland and expressed hope for a deal that would benefit both the US and Europe. Washington said that quite a lot had already been agreed upon. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated the need for Greenland to join the US. During his first presidential term, he offered to buy the island, and in March 2025, he expressed confidence that it could be annexed.