Several European nations, including France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Norway, and Sweden, have begun or committed to deploying troops as early as Wednesday. This move is largely symbolic but aims to demonstrate European solidarity.

The troop deployments send a clear message to President Donald Trump, emphasizing that a U.S. acquisition of Greenland is unnecessary. The collective efforts of NATO members can adequately ensure the Arctic region’s security, especially amid growing interest from Russia and China.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Wednesday that the first contingent of French soldiers is already on their way, with more to follow. French officials confirmed that approximately 15 mountain infantry soldiers are currently in Nuuk for a military exercise.

Germany plans to send a reconnaissance team consisting of 13 personnel to Greenland on Thursday, according to their Defence Ministry.

Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen stated on Thursday that the goal is to establish a more permanent military presence, with Denmark playing a larger role. He explained to Danish broadcaster DR that troops from various NATO countries will participate in a rotational system in Greenland.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, flanked by his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt, said on Wednesday that a “fundamental disagreement” over Greenland remains with Trump after they held highly anticipated talks at the White House with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Rasmussen added that it remains “clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland” but that dialogue with the US would continue at a high level over the following weeks.

‘Greenland does not want to be part of the United States’

Inhabitants of Greenland and Denmark reacted with anxiety but also some relief that negotiations with the US would go on and European support was becoming visible.

Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen welcomed the continuation of “dialogue and diplomacy.”

“Greenland is not for sale,” he said Thursday. “Greenland does not want to be owned by the United States. Greenland does not want to be governed from the United States. Greenland does not want to be part of the United States.”

In Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, local residents told The Associated Press they were glad the first meeting between Greenlandic, Danish and American officials had taken place but suggested it left more questions than answers.

Several people said they viewed Denmark’s decision to send more troops, and promises of support from other NATO allies, as protection against possible US military action. But European military officials have not suggested the goal is to deter a US move against the island.

Maya Martinsen, 21, said it was “comforting to know that the Nordic countries are sending reinforcements” because Greenland is a part of Denmark and NATO.

The dispute, she said, is not about “national security” but rather about “the oils and minerals that we have that are untouched.”

On Wednesday, Poulsen announced a stepped-up military presence in the Arctic “in close cooperation with our allies,” calling it a necessity in a security environment in which “no one can predict what will happen tomorrow.”

“This means that from today and in the coming time there will be an increased military presence in and around Greenland of aircraft, ships and soldiers, including from other NATO allies,” Poulsen said.

Asked whether the European troop movements were coordinated with NATO or what role the US-led military alliance might play in the exercises, NATO referred all questions to the Danish authorities. However, NATO is currently studying ways to bolster security in the Arctic.

The Russian embassy in Brussels on Thursday lambasted what it called the West’s “bellicose plans” in response to “phantom threats that they generate themselves”. It said the planned military actions were part of an “anti-Russian and anti-Chinese agenda” by NATO.

“Russia has consistently maintained that the Arctic should remain a territory of peace, dialogue and equal cooperation,” the embassy said.

Rasmussen announced the creation of a working group with the Americans to discuss ways to work through differences.

“The group, in our view, should focus on how to address the American security concerns, while at the same time respecting the red lines of the Kingdom of Denmark,” he said.

Commenting on the outcome of the Washington meeting on Thursday, Poulsen said the working group was “better than no working group” and “a step in the right direction.” He added nevertheless that the dialogue with the US did not mean “the danger has passed.”

“We are really happy that action is being taken to make sure that this discussion is not just ended with that meeting alone,” Greenlandic MP Aki-Matilda Høegh-Dam said on Thursday during a news conference in Copenhagen.

She said Greenlandic people understood they were a “pivotal point” in a broader transformation of the international rules-based order and that they felt responsible not just for themselves but also for the whole world to get it right.

Høegh-Dam said the military operations should not happen “right next to our schools and right next to our kindergartens.”

Line McGee, 38, from Copenhagen, told AP that she was glad to see some diplomatic progress. “I don’t think the threat has gone away,” she said. “But I feel slightly better than I did yesterday.”

Trump, in his Oval Office meeting with reporters, said: “We’ll see how it all works out. I think something will work out.”