Azernews.Az

The EU’s military chief has said that it would make sense to station European troops in Greenland following US President Donald Trump’s repeated calls for acquiring the autonomous Danish territory, Azernews reports.

"In my view, it would make perfect sense not only to station US forces in Greenland, as has been the case to date, but also to consider stationing EU soldiers there in the future," the chairman of the European Union Military Committee said, according to Reuters.

Ultimately, such a step would require a political decision, the Austrian-born general said. The military committee is the highest military office of the European Council, but it serves as a consultative body since the bloc has no dedicated army.

The US-led NATO is the main military alliance for the EU.

Although Greenland is not part of the EU as an overseas territory of Denmark, Europeans, as well as the US have interests in Greenland, the general added, citing its raw materials and strategic location.

"However, with increasing ice melt as a result of climate change, this also creates a certain potential for tension with Russia and possibly China," he said.

Trump has expressed an interest in making Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, part of the United States. He has not ruled out using military or economic power to persuade Denmark to hand it over.

Greenland's strategic location along the shortest route from Europe to North America, vital for the US ballistic missile warning system, has made it a priority for Trump.

Brieger said he hoped that the US as a member of the United Nations would respect the inviolability of borders as stipulated in the UN Charter.