EUROPEAN LEADERS RALLY BEHIND GREENLAND AS US RAMPS UP THREATS

By Guardian-Miranda Bryant- Nordic correspondent -Tue 6 Jan 2026 16.08 GMT

Support comes after presidential aide Stephen Miller says ‘no one will fight US militarily over future of Greenland. One of Donald Trump’s top aides has ramped up the pressure on Denmark by questioning Copenhagen’s claim to Greenland, as leaders from major European powers rallied behind the Arctic territory.

Stephen Miller, the US president’s deputy chief of staff for policy, also claimed military intervention would not be needed to take over island because “nobody is going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland”.

After the removal of Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, on Saturday, Donald Trump has renewed his calls for the US to take control of Greenland, prompting anger and alarm in Europe. On Tuesday the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the UK joined the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, in defending Greenland’s sovereignty.

In an interview with CNN Miller said military intervention would not be needed in order to gain control over Greenland because of its small population.

The prime minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, says an attack on Greenland would be the end of Nato. Photograph: Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP/Getty Images

He also suggested that Denmark does not have a right to the Arctic territory, which is a former Danish colony and remains part of its kingdom. Copenhagen continues to control Greenland’s foreign and security policy.

Asked whether military action against Greenland was off the table, he incorrectly stated that its population was 30,000 when in fact it is 57,000, saying: “What do you mean military action against Greenland? Greenland has a population of 30,000 people.

“The real question is what right does Denmark have to assert control over Greenland? What is the basis of their territorial claim? What is their basis of having Greenland as a colony of Denmark?”

He added: “The US is the power of Nato. For the US to secure the Arctic region to protect and defend Nato and Nato interests, obviously Greenland should be part of the US. And so that’s a conversation that we’re going to have as a country. That’s a process we’re going to have as a community of nations.”

There was, he said, “no need to even think or talk about” a military operation in Greenland, adding: “Nobody is going to fight the US militarily over the future of Greenland. That doesn’t make any sense.”

Fresh from his military operation in Venezuela, the US president said on Sunday the US needed Greenland “very badly”, renewing fears of a US invasion of the largely autonomous island.

In their statement on Tuesday, the European leaders said: “Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland.”

Denmark, Greenland push back on Trump remarks, say Greenland not for conquest - video

The leaders said security in the Arctic must be achieved collectively with Nato allies, including the US.

“Nato has made clear that the Arctic region is a priority and European allies are stepping up,” the statement said. “We and many other allies have increased our presence, activities, and investments, to keep the Arctic safe and to deter adversaries.”

The Danish foreign policy committee has called an extraordinary meeting of the country’s parliament for Tuesday night to discuss the Danish kingdom’s relationship with the US. It will be attended by the foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, and the defence minister, Troels Lund Poulsen.

Naaja H Nathanielsen, the Greenlandic minister for business, mineral resources, energy, justice and gender equality, said discussions about a potential US invasion of Greenland were “disturbing” and “very challenging” for Greenlanders.

“The people of Greenland takes this potential threat very hard and are anxious and afraid,” she told the Guardian.

She urged global leaders to “stand by the rights, laws and conventions that the western alliance has promoted for decades”.

Nathanielsen said that Greenland long been a “good American ally” but this “does not transfer into an acceptance of - or interest in becoming Americans.”

She added: “We are very few, but we are a people in our own right and insist that we are the ones to decide the future of Greenland. We will continuously promote the idea of alliances and partnerships over colonialism. We have had our share of that.”

Martin Lidegaard, leader of Denmark’s Social Liberal party and former Danish foreign minister, said it was a “very serious situation” and a “historical situation” where one Nato ally is threatening another Nato ally. “This is not comparable with any other event or country in the world,” he said.

The Miller interview was conducted after his wife, the rightwing podcaster Katie Miller, posted a map on X of Greenland draped in a US flag with the caption “SOON”.

Asked about the post, Miller laughed and said: “It has been the formal position of the US government since the beginning of this administration, frankly going back into the previous Trump administration, that Greenland should be part of the US. The president has been very clear about that.”

On Monday Frederiksen said an attack by the US on a Nato ally would mean the end of the military alliance and “post-second world war security”. It would, she said, be the end of “everything”.

Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, also made a strong statement in which he urged Trump to give up his “fantasies about annexation” and accused the US of “completely and utterly unacceptable” rhetoric. “Enough is enough,” he said.

Jens-Frederik Nielsen, the prime minister of Greenland. Photograph: Oscar Scott Carl/Reuters

Inuit people are understood to have lived in Greenland since as early as 2500 BCE. Modern colonisation began in 1721, when Hans Egede arrived acting with the support of what was then Denmark-Norway. It remained a colony until 1953, when it became part of the kingdom of Denmark. During the second world war, when Denmark was occupied by Germany, Greenland was occupied by the US and returned to Denmark in 1945. The US has had a military base in Greenland, which is important for its ballistic missile early warning system, at Pituffik (previously Thule) since the cold war.

In recent years there has been growing support for Greenlandic independence, particularly after revelations about Denmark’s treatment of Greenlandic people – including the IUD scandal – during and since colonial rule.

But amid the specter of Trump’s threat, Greenland in March formed a new four-party coalition government in a show of national unity, with the first page of the coalition agreement stating: “Greenland belongs to us.”

European leaders in Paris Photograph: Jeanne Accorsini/SIPA/ShutterstockSerena Richards (now) and Frances Mao (earlier)Tue 6 Jan 2026 19.47 GMT

'This is a declaration of intent to deploy forces to Ukraine in event of a peace deal,' No 10 says

Downing Street has said that Britain will “deploy forces to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal.” In a statement released after Starmer signed the “declaration of intent” earlier, his office says:

This is a declaration of intent to deploy forces to Ukraine in event of a peace deal. This is a vital part of our iron cast commitment to stand with Ukraine for the long term.

The ‘Multinational Force for Ukraine’ will act as a reassurance force to bolster security guarantees and Ukraine’s ability to return to peace and stability by supporting the regeneration of Ukraine’s own forces.

The signing of the declaration paves the way for the legal framework to be established for French and UK forces to operate on Ukrainian soil, securing Ukraine’s skies and seas and building an armed forces fit for the future.

In today’s discussions we have also gone into greater detail about the mechanics of the deployment of the force on the ground.

Alongside our plans for a coordination cell, post-ceasefire the UK and France will also establish ‘military hubs’ across Ukraine to enable the deployment and build protected facilities for weapons and military equipment to support Ukraine’s defensive needs.”

19.30 GMT

US special envoy Steve Witkoff speaks on behalf of President Trump, re-affirming that the president wants peace in Ukraine.

We are determined on his behalf to do everything possible to obtain that peace. We think we’re largely finished with security protocols.

But we also think, critically, we are very very close to finishing up as robust a prosperity agreement as any country has ever seen coming out of conflicts like this.”

19.25 GMT

Keir Starmer says the UK and the US have the “closest relationship,” and praises the coalition of the willing, claiming the group has made “real progress”, which says has only been made possible because of the countries’ political declarations and commitments.

19.20 GMT

President Zelenskyy has said there has been a “substantive” declaration on Ukraine security guarantees. He said in his statement:

It’s important that today the coalition has substantive documents. These are not just words. There is concrete content: a joint declaration by all the coalition countries and a trilateral declaration by France, Britain, and Ukraine.