NATO has begun military planning for a new mission to strengthen security in the Arctic, said Martin O’Donnell, spokesman for NATO’s Command of Allied Forces in Europe (SHAPE) on Tuesday. TASR informs about it according to the report of the AFP agency.
“This activity will further strengthen NATO’s position in the Arctic and the Far North,” said O’Donnell without further details about the mission called Arctic Sentry. News of plans for a new NATO mission comes after US President Donald Trump made protecting the area a key requirement in relation to Greenland.
Trump’s threats regarding this semi-autonomous territories of Denmark last month plunged the transatlantic alliance into the deepest crisis in recent yearswrites AFP. In recent weeks, the American president has repeatedly declared that the US needs Greenland for reasons of national security and also because Russia and China are allegedly increasingly involved in its surroundings.
The head of the White House backed away from his intention to take control of Greenland after he and NATO chief Mark Rutte announced the creation of a framework for a future agreement involving the island and the wider Arctic region. Subsequently, Trump backed away from the intention to impose additional tariffs on imports from eight European countries that supported Denmark and opposed the intention of the US president.
Denmark and Greenland have since begun trilateral talks with the United States on the Greenland question, and the discussions are expected to cover the 1951 treaty, which allows Washington to deploy its forces and military bases on the island.
