BRUSSELS — President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to seize control of Greenland have strained relations with NATO allies and prompted a warning that acting by force could spell the end of the alliance, the Associated Press reported.
Trump, who described the issue as a matter of resolve, reaffirmed on Sunday: “One way or the other, we’re going to have Greenland.” The AP report said the White House has not ruled out the use of military force, with Trump arguing he wants to prevent Russia or China from taking over and that making a deal would be “easier.”
Greenland is a semi-autonomous island that is part of the Danish realm. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, according to the AP report, said that “if the United States chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops … including our NATO.”
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, formed in 1949 by 12 nations during the Cold War to counter the security threat posed by the Soviet Union, is designed around collective deterrence. NATO deterrence, the AP report said, works through a strong American troop presence in Europe, with U.S. nuclear weapons stationed there.
The alliance’s membership has expanded to 32 countries since Sweden joined in 2024, with NATO describing its biggest threats as Russia and international terrorism. The AP report said NATO decisions are taken by consensus, so every member has a veto, and it added that the Trump administration vetoed Ukraine’s application.
NATO is built on Article 5’s collective security guarantee: an attack on any ally is treated as an attack on all. The AP report said NATO’s credibility depends on adversaries believing that all 32 allies would make good on that pledge, and it characterized Article 5 as a political commitment rather than a legal obligation enforceable in court. It said the only activation of Article 5 came in 2001, after the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington.
The AP report said Article 5 would be “moot” in any U.S.-Denmark conflict because there would be no unanimity to activate it. It also said NATO has no obvious way of dealing with open conflict among its members besides diplomacy, and noted that senior U.S. and Danish officials were due to hold talks on Wednesday.
If the situation deteriorates, Denmark could trigger Article 4 to hold official consultations if it feels its sovereignty or territorial integrity is threatened, the AP report said. It added that Article 4 talks do not automatically lead to action. The AP report also warned that an open conflict is almost certain to divide NATO and said it was unclear which allies would side with Trump over Greenland, citing the 2003 U.S.-led attack on Iraq as an example of internal division.
In the AP’s account, NATO is closely tied to U.S. capabilities and leadership, with the United States described as the alliance’s most powerful member. The AP report said NATO is weaker without U.S. leadership, troops, equipment or other military assets, and it described day-to-day operations at NATO headquarters in Brussels as led by former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
The AP report said Rutte chairs ambassadors’ meetings of the North Atlantic Council most weeks and also chairs ministerial-level North Atlantic Councils and heads-of-state and government summits. It said one of his tasks is to ensure the United States remains committed to NATO, and that he sidestepped questions about Greenland and any NATO tensions over the island on Monday.
Rutte told reporters, according to the AP report: “All allies agree on the importance of the Arctic and Arctic security because we know that with sea lanes opening up there is a risk that the Russians and the Chinese will be more active.” Asked whether NATO was in crisis over Greenland, he said: “No, not at all.”
NATO’s military headquarters is based in Mons, Belgium, the AP report said, and it is run by a top American officer. It identified the current supreme allied commander, or SACEUR, as Air Force Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, and said Trump is his commander in chief.