After talks with other NATO allies about reducing Russian activity in the Arctic region, Britain said they were “business as usual,” Reuters reported.
The Telegraph reported on the 10th of January that British and European military chiefs were drawing up a plan for a possible deployment of a NATO mission to Greenland, which US President Donald Trump has recently suggested the United States could join.
The newspaper said British officials have begun early talks with Germany, France and other countries about a plan that could see British troops stationed in Greenland, as well as warships and aircraft, to protect the Arctic island from Russia and China.
Bloomberg News reported on the 11th of January that Germany, whose foreign and finance ministers will visit Washington on the 12th of January, is pushing for a joint NATO mission to protect the Arctic region during their visit. British Transport Minister Heidi Alexander told Sky News that talks about deterring Russian dictator Vladimir Putin from expanding into the Arctic are “routine.” She added that the Arctic is becoming an increasingly desirable geographical region, which is also of interest to Russia and China,
so NATO allies are expected to develop a plan to deter these countries.
Trump, meanwhile, has said that Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, should be part of the United States to protect it from Russia and China. He has stressed that the presence of the US military alone will not be enough to protect the strategically located and mineral-rich island.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, who will meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the 12th of January, said that solutions to US concerns about Russian and Chinese ships near Greenland should be found within the framework of NATO’s operational guidelines. He noted that when it comes to the island’s territorial sovereignty, everything is absolutely clear – only the people of Greenland themselves can decide its future.
The US president has not provided evidence for the statements about Russian and Chinese ships. Ship tracking data from the websites MarineTraffic and LSEG also do not indicate the activities of vessels from these countries near Greenland.
Read also: Trump: We may have to choose between Greenland and NATO
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