TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he has spoken with US President Donald Trump about security concerns in Greenland and the wider Arctic region, amid rising tensions between Washington and several European countries over the strategic Arctic territory.
Rutte made the remarks in a post on social media platform X on Sunday, January 18, 2026.
“Spoke with @POTUS regarding the security situation in Greenland and the Arctic. We will continue working on this, and I look forward to seeing him in Davos later this week,” he wrote, signaling that further discussions are expected at the upcoming World Economic Forum.
The exchange comes as relations between the United States and parts of Europe have become strained following Trump’s renewed statements on Greenland.
Tariff Threats and Military Deployments
According to a report by The Hill, tensions escalated after Trump announced on Saturday that the United States would impose a 10 percent tariff on Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
The tariff threat followed the decision by the eight NATO members to deploy troops to Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, under a mission known as Operation Arctic Endurance.
The deployment was intended to strengthen support for Greenland’s autonomy after the Trump administration reiterated its interest in acquiring the Arctic island, citing “national securitypurposes.”
Trump said the tariffs would take effect on February 1 and rise to 25 percent on June 1 unless an agreement is reached for what he described as the “Complete and Total purchase of Greenland” by the United States.
European Pushback
The tariff threat drew swift backlash from Europe. In a joint response, European leaders warned that Washington’s actions risk undermining transatlantic relations and triggering a dangerous escalation.
They stressed that economic pressure runs counter to the spirit of cooperation between the United States and Europe.
The eight countries directly affected by the proposed tariffs issued a joint statement on Sunday condemning the move and reaffirming their commitment to Arctic security and the principle of national sovereignty.
Separately, European Council President Antonio Costa said an extraordinary meeting of the European Council would be convened in the coming days to discuss the US tariff plan linked to Greenland.
“Given the significance of recent developments and in order to further coordinate, I have decided to convene an extraordinary meeting of the European Council in the coming days,” Costa wrote on X, as reported by Anadolu.
Costa said EU member states had reaffirmed their commitment to unity, international law, territorial integrity, national sovereignty, and solidarity with Denmark and Greenland.
He also warned that the proposed tariffs would damage transatlantic relations and violate the spirit of EU–US trade cooperation, while emphasizing the bloc’s readiness to respond to coercive measures and its openness to constructive dialogue with Washington.
Read: Trump's Greenland Tariffs: What You Need to Know
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