Keir Starmer ‘may ship British troops to Greenland to assist guard the Arctic for Donald Trump’
Sir Keir Starmer could send British troops to Greenland as part of a NATO mission to help guard the Arctic for Donald Trump, it has emerged.
The Prime Minister is said to share the US President’s view that action must be taken to deter Russia‘s threat in the polar region.
Mr Trump has recently ramped up warnings he could seize Greenland for security reasons, and has not ruled out using American military force to do so.
But, in a phone call with the US President on Wednesday evening, Sir Keir told Mr Trump the future of the island should only be a matter for Greenlanders and Denmark.
The conversation was followed by a flurry of diplomatic activity, with the PM going on to hold calls with Danish PM Mette Frederiksen and NATO boss Mark Rutte.
Sir Keir held a further call with Mr Trump on Thursday, before speaking with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday.
Downing Street said the leaders discussed how NATO needed to ‘step up’ in the High North, which includes Greenland, to deter Russia.
According to The Telegraph, military chiefs are now drawing up plans for a possible NATO mission on the island – an autonomous territory of NATO member Denmark.
Danish military forces are pictured participating in an exercise with hundreds of troops from several European NATO members in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, in September last year
Donald Trump has recently ramped up warnings he could seize Greenland for security reasons, and has not ruled out using American military force to do so
Sir Keir Starmer is said to share the US President’s view that action must be taken to deter Russia’s threat in the polar region
British officials are said to have met with counterparts from countries including Germany and France in recent days to start the preparations.
A Government source told the newspaper: ‘We share President Trump’s view – Russia’s growing aggression in the High North must be deterred, and Euro-Atlantic security strengthened.
‘NATO discussions on reinforcing security in the region continue, and we would never get ahead of those.
‘But the UK is working with NATO allies to drive efforts to bolster Arctic deterrence and defence.
‘The UK will continue to work with allies – as we always have – on operations in our national interest, protecting people back at home.’
The idea of European countries offering to put a military force on the island is said to have been discussed at a meeting of NATO allies in Brussels on Thursday.
Any operation – which could be a full-blown troop deployment or a combination of time-limited exercises, intelligence sharing, capability development and rerouted defence spending – would likely be carried out under NATO’s banner.
Cabinet minister Heidi Alexander said there were ‘business as usual discussions’ among NATO allies about how to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Arctic.
‘It’s becoming an increasingly contested geopolitical region with Russia and China,’ the Transport Secretary told Sky News.
‘You would expect us to be talking to all our allies in NATO about what we can do to deter Russian aggression in the Arctic Circle.
‘And whilst it hasn’t had the devastating consequences that we have seen in Ukraine, they are becoming increasingly active in the region, Russia.
‘That’s why we signed the defence agreement with Norway in December, which is going to lead to us jointly operating a fleet of Type 26 anti-submarine warfare frigates there, to hunt down Russian submarines, and to make sure that we can protect our critical infrastructure under the sea.
‘It’s why we have agreed to do more joint training at the Royal Marines with Norway and why we have agreed to pre-deploy some of our equipment to Norway, so that we can act quickly if necessary.
‘And of course, you’ll know as well that we’re a leading member in the Joint Expeditionary Force, which is a coalition of 10 like-minded nations who see defence and deterrence in the Arctic Circle… of being of paramount importance.’
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch declined to be drawn on whether she would support British troops being deployed to Greenland.
She told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show: ‘What I’m not going to do is give a blank cheque. What is the reason why we are sending troops to Greenland?
‘Is that for defence? Is that to show we are being more serious? NATO spending has been well below what it should be across the countries. So it’s all about the specifics.
‘What I’m not going to do is have an operational conversation when I don’t have the level of security briefings and detail, which the Prime Minister has.’
She added: ‘Right now what I’m really worried about is whether there’s even going to be a NATO – we need to make sure we keep the US on side.
‘Talking about putting troops to settle a dispute between NATO members is, I think, getting ahead of ourselves.’
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: ‘The UK is committed to working with NATO allies to strengthen NATO’s Arctic deterrence and defence.’
