 "Greenland's flag flies in the Igaliku settlement, on July 5, 2024. In recent weeks, Donald Trump has said time and again that he wants to acquire Greenland, the world's largest island. Reuters")
United States President Donald Trump has repeatedly voiced his intention to take over the world’s largest island, Greenland, and make it a part of the US.
His comments had sparked a wave of concerns among politicians and general citizens alike. The anxiety was especially heightened after Trump refused to respect the statement of the Greenland government, which clarified they do not wish to be a part of either the US or Denmark (of which the island is an autonomous territory).
“One way or the other, we’re going to get it,” the Republican had said– sparking worries that the use of force by US military was on the cards.
That created quite an uncomfortable situation for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato), which both Denmark and the US are signatories of.
Nato’s Article 5 states that “an attack on one is an attack on all”. That measn that meaning that if any member nation is attacked, the others will respond as if a war had been declared on them as well– united defence.
But what happens when one Nato member attacks another?
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway, Espen Barth Eide, was posed this exact question in the context of a potential US effort to annex Greenland at Raisina Dialogue 2025.
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More Shorts“Oh well, I’ll tell you the secret,” Eide said humorously. “Those of you who know Nato– and I think most people– have heard about article 5, which is the collective commitment to defence against external threats. But there’s actually also an Article 1.”
He went on to explain that “Because Nato was set up in 1949, only four years after the UN Charter[…]some of the same people wrote the Atlantic treaty. So, the first thing you say is that we will reframe from use of force or even threat to use the force among ourselves. You know, we will be good citizens in our club.”
Article 1 of Nato states that the signing parties “undertake, as set forth in the Charter of the United Nations, to settle any international dispute in which they may be involved by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security and justice are not endangered, and to refrain, in their international relations from the threat or use of force in any manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations.”
Eide suggested that Nato binds its members, including the US, to never get embroiled in an armed conflict with each other.
However, what would happen in case the US decides to breach the agreement, or pull out of Nato and then attack Greenland, remains unclear.