Britain is in talks with NATO to strengthen security in the Arctic, and agrees with Trump on risks from Russia and China, while he continues to focus on Greenland.
Britain is discussing with its NATO allies how it can help boost security in the Arctic to counter threats from Russia and China, a government minister said on Sunday.
Transportation Secretary Heidi Alexander said the talks were “business as usual” rather than a response to US President Donald Trump’s recent threats to seize Greenland.
Trump said Friday he would like to strike a deal to acquire Greenland, a semi-autonomous region from NATO ally Denmark, to prevent Russia or China from seizing it.
“We’re going to do something to Greenland whether they like it or not,” Trump said Friday.
Greenland, with a population of around 57,000, is defended by Denmark, whose military is dwarfed by that of the United States, which has a military base on the island. The Danish Prime Minister has warned that a takeover would threaten NATO.
The UK agrees with Trump that Russia and China are becoming increasingly competitive in the Arctic Circle, Alexander said.
“Even though we haven’t seen in this part of the world the terrible consequences that we saw in Ukraine, it’s really important that we do everything we can with all our NATO allies to ensure that we have an effective deterrent in this part of the world against (Russian President Vladimir) Putin,” Alexander told the BBC.
Former British ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson, sacked last year over his friendship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, said he did not think Trump would take Greenland by force.
“He’s not a fool,” Mandelson said. “We’re all going to have to wake up to the reality that the Arctic needs to be protected from China and Russia. And if you ask me who’s going to lead that security effort, we all know, don’t we, it’s going to be the United States.”
Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, suggested that Britain offer to deploy troops to Greenland in a joint command with Denmark.
“If Trump is serious about security, he would agree to participate and drop his outrageous threats,” Davey said. “Tearing up the NATO alliance would only play into Putin’s hands. »
It is unclear what the reaction of the remaining NATO members would be if the United States decided to take control of the island by force or if it came to Denmark’s aid.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
