European leaders have reaffirmed Greenland’s sovereignty after Stephen Miller, a vocal senior aide to US President Donald Trump, suggested on Monday that the United States could have a role in the island’s future and claimed no country would militarily resist US ambitions there.
The response by leaders was voiced ahead of the Coalition of the Willing summit in Paris on Tuesday. That meeting, featuring more than two dozen states, is focused on Ukraine and is widely considered crucial at a moment when peace talks need to move forward, even as Russia has continued deadly nightly attacks on its neighbour. Leaders issued a joint statement saying that Greenland belonged to its people and that decisions about its future rested with Greenland and Denmark alone.
European governments emphasised that Arctic security must be maintained collectively through NATO cooperation and underlined respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Post-war underpinnings
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that any attempt by the United States to seize territory of a NATO ally would effectively mean the end of NATO and post-war security underpinnings. Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen described Miller’s remarks as completely and utterly unacceptable and called for respectful diplomatic engagement.
Coalition talks underway
The Paris talks, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and attended by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are aimed at strengthening European and allied commitments to Ukraine’s defence and coordinating security measures. US envoys taking part in the talks included Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who have played a key role in peace talks and the setting up of a potential framework for lasting peace in Ukraine.
