German military team heads to Greenland for reconnaissance mission

By Ayhan Simsek

BERLIN (AA) - Germany will send 13 soldiers to Greenland this week as part of a multinational reconnaissance mission, the Defense Ministry announced Wednesday.

A German Air Force A400M transport aircraft will depart Thursday morning for Nuuk, Greenland's capital, carrying the reconnaissance team, the ministry said in a statement.

"The goal is to explore the framework conditions for possible military contributions to support Denmark in ensuring security in the region, for example for maritime surveillance capabilities," the ministry said.

The deployment follows an invitation from Denmark and will include representatives from other European partner nations, though the ministry did not specify which countries would participate.

The reconnaissance mission comes amid growing tensions between the US and Europeans following President Donald Trump's recent comments on Greenland and his insistence that it should be "in the hands of the US" to counter threats from Russia and China.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told reporters on Wednesday, after a visit to the White House, that they "didn't manage to change American position" on Greenland.

"For us, ideas that would not respect territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and the right of self-determination of the Greenlandic people are, of course, totally unacceptable,” he said.

US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Rasmussen and Greenland Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt amid Trump's ongoing interest in acquiring the autonomous Danish territory.