A group of European countries, led by Germany and Great Britain, are preparing a coordinated military response in the Arctic to counter US President Donald Trump's attempts to annex Greenland, Bloomberg reported.
According to sources close to the matter, Berlin is preparing to propose to NATO the creation of a mission called "Arctic Sentinel".
The operation, modeled on the monitoring of critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, aims to secure the region from Russian and Chinese rivalry, while also showing Washington that Europeans are ensuring stability in the far north. Asked by the BBC, British Transport Minister Heidi Alexander described the talks as "routine", denying that they were an urgent response to the US president's statements.
While London shares the White House's assessment of the growing risks in the Arctic, the minister emphasized the multilateral framework.
"It is crucial that we do everything possible with our NATO allies to ensure effective deterrence against (Russian President) Vladimir Putin in this region of the world," the British minister said.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadeful, who will meet with his US counterpart Marco Rubio next week, said security in the Arctic is becoming crucial.
"We want to discuss within the Alliance how we can take on this responsibility together," the German minister added.
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