Germany Sends Troops to Greenland amid Arctic Geopolitical Tensions

Germany will send 13 of its military personnel to Greenland this week as part of a multinational reconnaissance mission amid increased geopolitical attention to the Arctic region.

A German Air Force A400M transport plane was scheduled to take off Thursday morning for Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, carrying the reconnaissance team.

"We want to study a framework for possible military contributions to support Denmark in maintaining security in the region, including maritime surveillance capabilities," the German Defense Ministry said.

The mission was carried out at the invitation of Denmark and will involve representatives from a number of European partner countries, although Berlin did not specify which countries would participate.

The delivery comes amid rising tensions between the United States and European countries following President Donald Trump's statement that Greenland should be "in the hands of the US" to face Russia and China.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told reporters after a visit to the White House on Wednesday that his country "did not succeed in changing the American position" regarding Greenland.

"For us, any idea that does not respect the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and the right of the Greenlandic people to self-determination is of course completely unacceptable," Rasmussen said.

US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously met with Rasmussen and Greenland Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt, amid Trump's continued interest in controlling the Danish autonomous region.