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Just this morning, a self-styled Alliance of the Willing, mostly made up of European leaders, gathered in Paris with delegates of the Trump administration, aiming to achieve more headway on a sustainable settlement for Ukraine.

With Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky declaring that a plan to conclude the hostilities with Russia is "nearly finalized", nobody in that gathering wished to risk keeping the Washington involved.

Yet, there was an immense unspoken issue in that grand and sparkling gathering, and the prevailing atmosphere was exceptionally strained.

Bear in mind the developments of the recent days: the US administration's contentious intervention in Venezuela and the President Trump's assertion shortly thereafter, that "our national security requires Greenland from the viewpoint of strategic interests".

Greenland is the world's largest island – it's six times the area of Germany. It is located in the Arctic but is an semi-independent territory of Copenhagen.

At the summit, Mette Frederiksen, the Danish Prime Minister, was seated opposite two influential individuals speaking on behalf of Trump: emissary Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

She was subject to urging from European counterparts to refrain from alienating the US over Greenland, in case that impacts US assistance for Ukraine.

EU heads of state would have much rather to separate Greenland and the discussions on the war distinct. But with the diplomatic heat escalating from the White House and Denmark, leaders of major European nations at the talks put out a declaration stating: "Greenland is part of the alliance. Defense in the North must therefore be achieved together, in cooperation with alliance members like the US".

"The decision is for Denmark and the Greenlandic authorities, and them alone, to determine on affairs concerning the kingdom and its autonomous territory," the communiqué further stated.

The communique was greeted by the island's leader, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but observers say it was slow to be put together and, due to the limited number of signatories to the declaration, it was unable to show a European Union aligned in objective.

"Had there been a common statement from all 27 European Union countries, plus alliance partner the UK, in backing of Danish authority, that would have conveyed a strong signal to Washington," stated a European foreign policy specialist.

Reflect on the contradiction at hand at the European gathering. Multiple EU national and other leaders, such as NATO and the European Union, are trying to engage the US administration in safeguarding the future sovereignty of a continental state (the Eastern European nation) against the hostile territorial ambitions of an external actor (Russia), just after the US has swooped into sovereign Venezuela by armed intervention, taking its president into custody, while also persistently actively challenging the sovereignty of a further EU member (the Kingdom of Denmark).

To make matters even more stark – Copenhagen and the US are both participants of the military bloc NATO. They are, in the view of Danish officials, extremely close allies. Previously, they were considered so.

The question is, were Trump to make good on his goal to bring Greenland under US control, would it represent not just an severe risk to NATO but also a major problem for the EU?

Europe Faces the Danger of Being Trampled Underfoot

This is not an isolated incident Trump has expressed his resolve to control Greenland. He's proposed purchasing it in the past. He's also refused to rule out forcible annexation.

He insisted that the island is "crucially located right now, it is patrolled by foreign naval assets all over the place. We need Greenland from the vantage point of national security and Copenhagen is not going to be able to provide security".

Copenhagen refutes that claim. It has lately committed to allocate $4bn in Arctic security for boats, drones and aircraft.

As per a treaty, the US has a strategic outpost already on Greenland – established at the start of the East-West standoff. It has cut the figure of troops there from about 10,000 during peak the confrontation to around 200 and the US has often been faulted of taking its eye off the northern theater, until now.

Copenhagen has indicated it is willing to talk about a larger US role on the island and more but faced with the US President's threat of going it alone, the Danish PM said on Monday that the US leader's goal to take Greenland should be considered a real possibility.

In the wake of the Washington's moves in Venezuela this past few days, her counterparts throughout Europe are heeding that warning.

"This whole situation has just emphasized – once again – the EU's basic vulnerability {