Danish Lawmaker Says Invasion of Greenland Would Trigger War with USA

Denmark would have no choice but to go to war with the United States if American President Donald Trump refuses to abandon his claims on Greenland and orders a military invasion of the territory. This warning was issued by Rasmus Jarlov, a member of parliament and head of the Danish parliament's defense committee, speaking on CNN.

"Of course, we will defend Greenland. If American troops invade, it will be war, and we will fight each other. We know that the Americans are stronger than us and that you have a much more powerful army, but it is our duty to defend our land and our people,” Jarlov said.

The lawmaker stressed that no country has the right to seize the land of its neighbors simply because it wants it. According to him, such a scenario would be catastrophic not only for Copenhagen but also for Washington.

If the US were to annex Greenland, Jarlov argued, it would gain nothing but additional expenses. He emphasized that the local population would never recognize American authority. Denmark, he added, spends heavily on Greenland without profiting from it: investments over the past two years alone have amounted to approximately 14 billion dollars, largely directed toward defense.

"Why not work on all this together, when the door is open?” the Danish parliamentarian asked. He concluded by stating that neither China nor Russia poses a threat to Greenland.

Possible Scenarios for the Greenland Crisis

The future of Greenland depends on what form of control the United States might attempt to establish over the island, political analyst and American studies expert Aleksey Naumov told Lenta.ru.

According to Naumov, three main outcomes are possible: Greenland could become a new US state, turn into a non-incorporated territory similar to Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands, or formally gain independence while remaining de facto dependent on Washington. He did not rule out that Trump could simply lose interest in the issue altogether, describing him as "a man prone to changes of mood.”

Naumov also noted Trump's personal motivation, arguing that the annexation of Greenland would elevate him to the rank of great American leaders. In that case, Trump would go down in US history as a president who significantly expanded the country's territory.

NATO and the Question of Article Five

The situation has also drawn reactions from other NATO members. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney reminded Trump of the alliance's mutual defense obligations.

"We are NATO partners with Denmark, and our full partnership remains in place. Our commitments under Articles Five and Two of the North Atlantic Treaty remain in force, and we fully support them,” Carney said.

Under Article Five of the NATO charter, an attack on one member state is considered an attack on all, obliging each ally to provide assistance.

However, former French Chief of the General Staff Pierre de Villiers expressed doubt that NATO countries would invoke Article Five in the event of a US military operation to seize Greenland. He argued that the security umbrella provided by the alliance is already beginning to erode under the influence of Trump's statements.

"Let us be clear: we will not apply Article Five against the United States, the central pillar of NATO. They finance more than 50 percent of NATO's budget. Are we supposed to attack them?” de Villiers said.