A group of European countries, led by Germany and Great Britain, is preparing a coordinated military response in theArctic to counter U.S. President Trump’s attempts to annex Greenland, Bloomberg reported.
According to first-hand sources, Berlin is preparing to propose that NATO should launch a mission called “Arctic Sentry.”
That operation, modeled on the supervision of critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, aims to protect the region fromthe rivalry of Russia and China, while at the same time signaling to Washington that Europeans are ensuring stability in the far north.
When asked by BBC, UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander described the talks as “routine talks”, negating that they represent an urgent response to statements made by the U.S. President.
While London shares the White House assessment of increased risk in the Arctic, the Secretary emphasized the multilateral framework.
“The key is to do all it takes with our NATO allies to ensure an effective deterrence against Russian President Vladimir Putin in this region,” said the British Prime Minister.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, who will meet the U.S. colleague Marco Rubio, next week, said that the security in the Arctic is becoming crucial.
“We want to discuss within the Alliance how we can together take this responsibility,” added the German Foreign Minister.
