Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Denmark was ready to defend Greenland and backed Greenland's right to self-determination after President Trump revived his demand for U.S. control of the island during the NATO summit in Ankara. The Associated Press reported that the exchange cut across the summit's intended message of allied unity and higher defense spending.
The dispute is more than diplomatic theater. Greenland is strategically important in the Arctic, where Russia and China are expanding activity and where missile defense, shipping lanes, mineral access, and North Atlantic surveillance overlap. But NATO's core logic depends on allies not treating one another's territory as bargaining material. That is why Danish and Nordic pushback was immediate.
The summit was already under pressure from U.S. strikes on Iran, discussions over Ukraine, and debates about whether European allies are doing enough to fund defense. Adding Greenland turned an agenda about collective capacity into a test of trust. If allies believe U.S. security demands can become sovereignty demands, higher spending alone will not repair confidence.
The immediate risk is not a Greenland handover, which Denmark and Greenland oppose. The risk is diplomatic corrosion: allies may hedge, Europe may accelerate independent defense planning, and adversaries may read public alliance tension as operational opportunity.