NATO should launch an operation in the Arctic to address US security concerns, Belgium's defence minister has said, urging transatlantic unity amid growing European unease about US President Donald Trump's push to take control of Greenland.
"We have to collaborate, work together and show strength and unity," Theo Francken said in a phone interview, adding that there is a need for "a NATO operation in the high north".
On Friday Mr Trump said that the US needs to own Greenland to prevent Russia or China from occupying it in the future.
European officials have been discussing ways to ease US concerns about security around Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark.
Mr Francken suggested NATO's Baltic Sentry and Eastern Sentry operations, which combine forces from different countries with drones, sensors and other technology to monitor land and sea, as possible models for an "Arctic Sentry".
He acknowledged Greenland's strategic importance but said "I think that we need to sort this out like friends and allies, like we always do".
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A NATO spokesperson said on Friday that alliance chief Mark Rutte spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the importance of the Arctic for shared security and how NATO is working to enhance its capabilities in the high north.
Denmark and Greenland's leaders have said that the Arctic island could not be annexed and international security did not justify such a move.
Earlier today the leader of Greenland's opposition told RTÉ News he does not believe the US will invade Greenland and that people have "nothing to fear".
Speaking on RTÉ's This Week programme, the Naleraq party leader Pele Broberg said a US invasion would not make any sense from a logical point of view - be they from the US, Russia, China or Denmark.
"I believe that diplomacy and dialogue will win in the end," Mr Broberg added.
Yesterday, all five political parties in the territory's parliament issued a rare joint statement rejecting threats from Mr Trump to take over the Arctic region.
"We will not be Americans, we will not be Danes, we are Greenlanders," the leaders declared in a statement.
The five party leaders, including Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen, said they "strongly oppose" any US takeover of Greenland and condemned recent American statements as "extremely disrespectful".
Just days previously, Mr Broberg had called for Greenland to bypass Denmark and negotiate directly with the US.
On Friday evening Mr Trump suggested the use of force to take over the island, saying he wanted to make a deal either "the easy way" or "the hard way".
"We are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not," Mr Trump said.
This afternoon Mr Broberg pointed out that the areas of Greenland which are in danger from Chinese and Russian influence are not the populated areas, but along the east coast where very few people live.
"I don't believe anyone has anything to fear in Greenland; be it from Denmark, France, Italy - despite them wanting to send NATO troops to Greenland," he said.
"I don't think in the end this hysteria will prevail. I actually believe that diplomacy and dialogue will win in the end. Even NATO allies talk about the lack of realism in having paratroopers in Greenland because it doesn't make sense," he added.
"It's not the populated areas that are in danger from Chinese or Russian influence. It's our east coast where nobody, or almost nobody, lives."
Greenlanders want to be Greenlanders, Mr Broberg said, adding that: "That's what everyone up here wants."
"We are currently Danish but none of us wants to be a US or Danish citizen," he added.
Mr Broberg said his initial reaction to hearing the White House suggesting that military force could be used to take over Greenland was "here we go again".
"My initial reaction was - here we go again, where the media takes everything and blows it out of proportion and doesn't wait for the proper diplomatic channels to figure out, is that literally? Or is that just posturing or negotiations tactics?"
Watch: Trump says US to take over Greenland 'the easy way or the hard way'
He said no one from the Trump administration has been in touch with him, despite Mr Broberg's call for dialogue.
"However, I would be the last guy to call if they want help from Greenlandic politicians," he added, "because I want our people to be set free from the Danish annexation and become Greenlandic citizens."
Mr Broberg said all the political parties in Greenland have called for a new defence agreement with the US to replace the current one that was reached between the US and Denmark in 1951.
"All the political parties support fully a new defence agreement with the US. One of the main problems we have is that everyone seems to have an opinion about why we would do that with the US.
"Why not just let us have a defence agreement or a security arrangement with the US?"
A 2009 agreement between Greenland and Denmark explicitly recognised Greenlanders' right to independence if they choose, but while all five parties say they want independence, they differ on how and when to achieve it.
The Greenlandic leaders have said dialogue with all countries must be based on "mutual respect" and called for "equality and partnership", warning that "no countries, big or small, can change" Greenland's right to determine its own future.
Additional reporting: Reuters
