US allies won’t soon forget crisis triggered by Trump

For God’s sake, what happened in the last two weeks?

Following the successful military operation in Venezuela earlier this month, a reinvigorated Donald Trump began to step up the rhetoric regarding Greenland.

Day after day, the world faced property claims, threats of military action, and tariffs against traditional allies in Europe.

Now, it may all be gone in a visible cloud of smoke.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, arguably Trump’s chief whisperer, appears to have dissuaded the president from his dangerously high hobbyhorse.

The foundation for this may have been laid last week during the visit of the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland to Washington. The visit ended with an agreement to establish a “working group” to discuss the future of Greenland.

But Rutte appears to have deftly resolved an issue that threatens to tear apart the North Atlantic alliance.

We don’t know the details of the deal yet, but many will wonder why it took a crazy two-week crisis to get here.

Denmark has long said it was delighted to see an increased American military presence in Greenland.

If NATO has now pledged to increase its presence on and around the island, this will be a way of reassuring Donald Trump that the alliance is finally paying proper attention to Greenland.

The New York Times quotes unnamed officials as saying there is an idea being discussed for Denmark to cede sovereignty over small areas in Greenland where the US would build military bases; This is similar to the arrangement under which the UK maintains sovereign bases in Cyprus.

Trump said the deal would include access to Greenland’s mineral resources.

Neither Denmark nor NATO confirmed these or other reports.

NATO said the talks “will focus particularly on ensuring Arctic security through the joint efforts of the seven Arctic Allies – the United States, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland” and will aim to prevent Russia and China from gaining an economic or military foothold in Greenland.

It won’t be long before details of the deal emerge. But the fact that Donald Trump triggered two weeks of drama and a sense of existential crisis within NATO to get here will not soon be forgotten.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney described this as a “rupture” and said the old order “will not come back”.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke of “seismic change” and called for greater independence of Europe.

It’s hard to see a quick return to business as usual.