US-NATO crisis averted after Greenland issue 'resolved'

Ownership unclear

In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Rutte provided few specifics about the framework and dodged questions about whether the US would take ownership of the island.

"We basically discussed how we can implement the president's vision on protecting, yes, Greenland, but not only Greenland, the whole Arctic," Rutte said.

Asked by Fox News' Bret Baier if Denmark would continue to exercise sovereignty over Greenland under the framework, Rutte said the "issue did not come up".

NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart later explained that Rutte "did not propose any compromise to sovereignty" during his meeting with Trump, adding that the meeting was "productive" and said the framework would focus on allies' "collective efforts" to uphold Arctic security.

"Negotiations between Denmark, Greenland, and the United States will go forward aimed at ensuring that Russia and China never gain a foothold— economically or militarily—in Greenland," she said.

While Trump's meeting with Rutte clearly had an impact on the president's decision to adopt a less confrontational tone with his European allies at Davos, other factors also contributed to his decision to calm tensions, not least the negative impact his highly contentious remarks had on global markets, which suffered their biggest losses since October as a result of his threat to impose punishing tariffs against key European allies.

Irreparable damage

Even so, Trump's confrontational approach to the Greenland issue, during which he frequently chastised Washington's European allies for perceived weakness, may have caused irreparable damage to transatlantic relations.

European concerns that the US, certainly while Trump remains in power, can no longer be regarded as a trusted ally have been growing since the publication of the Trump administration's National Security Strategy in early December, which claimed Europe was a continent in decline.

As European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen remarked during her Davos speech, "The world has changed permanently. We need to change with it."

The challenge for European leaders, now that the Greenland crisis appears to have been resolved, is to get transatlantic relations back on track to the point where they can refocus on more pressing issues, such as ending the long-running war in Ukraine, which next month will enter its fourth year.

The distraction caused by Trump's Greenland demands, together with the controversy over Washington's military intervention in Venezuela to remove former president Nicolás Maduro, has meant that little attention has been paid to the crucial issue of ending the war in Ukraine.