NATO Chief Confirms Trump’s Greenland Framework Includes Expanded European Arctic Deployment
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed Thursday that European nations will be expected to expand their military presence in the Arctic region as part of the Greenland framework deal being advanced by President Donald Trump.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Rutte said NATO must begin implementing a plan to bolster security around Greenland — a territory the Trump administration is now aggressively pursuing for national defense purposes.
“I have no doubt we can do this quite fast,” Rutte told Reuters. “Certainly I would hope for 2026, I hope even early in 2026.”
The remarks came one day after Trump and Rutte held what the president described as a “very productive meeting” in Davos. Trump later announced that the United States and NATO had “formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland,” prompting him to suspend a round of tariffs that were scheduled to hit European nations on February 1.
Trump said the Greenland framework would be a “forever” deal focused on minerals, missile defense, and international security. But he emphasized that the driving force behind his push wasn’t rare earths — it was strategic necessity.
“There’s so many [minerals],” Trump said. “There’s no such thing as rare earth. There’s rare processing. But there’s so much rare earth. And to get to this rare earth, you got to go through hundreds of feet of ice. That’s not the reason we need it. We need it for strategic national security and international security.”
Trump has repeatedly warned that the United States must act quickly to prevent China or Russia from moving on Greenland. In his speech Wednesday, the president reaffirmed that he would not use force to take the island but insisted that negotiations must begin immediately.
“The United States alone can protect this giant mass of land,” he said. “And that’s the reason I’m seeking immediate negotiations.”
When asked whether Trump could be trusted to follow through, Rutte said, “You can always take Donald Trump at his word.”
The framework is not a final deal, but it opens the door for serious negotiations — led by Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff — all of whom will report directly to Trump.
While Denmark and Greenland have opposed U.S. acquisition efforts, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen acknowledged that talks moved forward on Wednesday.
“It is still a difficult and serious situation,” Frederiksen said, “but progress has also been made in the sense that we have now got things where they need to be — namely that we can discuss how we promote common security in the Arctic region.”
Trump also tied the talks to his proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense system, which would use Greenland as a strategic platform for intercepting hypersonic missiles launched from Russia or China.
“Further information will be made available as discussions progress,” Trump said.