Which European countries have troops in Greenland?published at 16:32 GMT
16:32 GMT
Tamara Kovacevic
BBC Verify senior journalist
President Trump threatened eight European countries with tariffs on their exports to the US after claiming they had “journeyed to Greenland, for purposes unknown”.
The countries have sent troops to the island – which Trump wants to acquire – as part of efforts by Denmark to increase its Arctic training there, external, along with Nato allies.
We’ve been finding out how many troops they currently have in Greenland.
Image source, EPAImage caption,
Danish soldiers were seen disembarking at Nuuk airport, Greenland, on Tuesday
Denmark The Danish authorities would not confirm how many extra troops they had sent to Greenland but a group were pictured arriving at Nuuk airport on Tuesday. Denmark has said it is “strengthening its presence” on the island.
Germany A spokesperson for the German government told BBC Verify a 15-strong team had been sent consisting of “experts from Joint Force Command, the Army, the Air Force and the Navy… made up of specialists in logistics, pilots, sailors, infrastructure and planning”.
Sweden The Swedish government told BBC Verify that three military officers had been sent: “At present, there are no plans for them to return to Sweden.”
Netherlands The Dutch government confirmed, external two naval officers had taken part in reconnaissance and provided operational and logistical expertise and they had “completed their work as planned”.
Norway The Norwegian government told BBC Verify two officers were sent to “assess opportunities for further cooperation with Allies to strengthen security in the Arctic. […] The initial planning work is now complete, and we plan for the personnel to return to Norway this week.”
Finland The government of Finland also sent two officers, external on “a reconnaissance mission to explore exercise opportunities”.
UK Defence Secretary John Healey announced on 14 January, external “at the request of the Danish government there is one UK military officer that is part of this reconnaissance group”. The MOD says it is unable to comment on whether that officer is still in Greenland or not.
France Initial reports, external suggested 15 soldiers were deployed. However, neither the defence ministry nor the president’s office would confirm this number.