Finnish foreign minister: Greenland covered by NATO security rules

Greenland is protected by NATO’s Article 5 which invokes mutual defence in the case of any armed attack or invasion, the Finnish foreign minister has said.

According to Elina Valtonen, Article 5 is extended to Greenland as an autonomous territory of Denmark, a NATO member.

When asked to confirm whether Denmark provides cover for Greenland, she responded, “Precisely.”

“It’s a good thing also that Greenland is part of Denmark and Denmark is in NATO,” Valtonen told Euronews’ The Europe Conversation.

Article 5 — a provision stating an attack on one is an attack on all — is the cornerstone of NATO’s allied defence pact.

The issue arose after US President Donald Trump recently reignited a call from his first administration to take over Greenland to shore up American power in the Arctic Sea.

He also wanted to take over the Panama Canal and turn Canada into the 51st US state.

When asked if he’d refrain from taking Greenland or Panama by force, he responded, “No, I can’t assure you on either of those two.”

However, Minister Valtonen said she believes Trump’s vocal demands about obtaining Greenland, the Panama Canal and Canada must be “distinguished” from his true intentions.

“With Trump, you have to distinguish between his way of speaking and also his true intentions,” she said. “The Arctic is becoming ever so important. So as an alliance, we should also be paying so much more focus on Arctic security.”

Due to global warming, the ice caps in the Arctic are melting, creating new sea routes opening up for large vessels and shortening navigation times. Greenland also has a supply of rare minerals, oil and gas.

China and Russia have already expanded their presence there, and the US has a presence but is eager to expand its foothold.

Meanwhile, Finnish authorities are continuing investigations into a seized oil tanker, the Eagle S, which is alleged to be part of Russia’s shadow fleet and potentially responsible for damage to undersea communications cables.

Finland is responding robustly to attacks from Russia as part of its hybrid war against Western targets, which includes sabotaging of critical infrastructure, harmful disinformation, cyber-attacks and GPS jamming, which authorities say are tactics deployed to enable a shadow fleet of fuel transporters to avoid detection.

“This is not just the Finnish problem,” said Valtonen.

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Last week, Finnish President Alexander Stubb launched “Baltic Sentry” with Baltic Sea neighbours and NATO. It commits the allies in the Baltic Sea to heightened infrastructure security and surveillance in response to hybrid war threats.

“Quite many of the damages we’ve experienced over the course of the past I’d say 18 months in the Baltic Sea area have been influencing directly several coastal states,” said Valtonen.

“The shadow fleet is essentially responsible for transporting illegal oil … So it is responsible for funding Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine,” she explained.