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Just this morning, a so-called Alliance of the Willing, mostly made up of European heads of state, convened in Paris with representatives of President Trump, hoping to make more advances on a lasting peace deal for Ukraine.

With Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky insisting that a roadmap to halt the conflict with Russia is "largely complete", nobody in that room desired to jeopardise retaining the Washington onboard.

Yet, there was an enormous glaring omission in that opulent and glittering gathering, and the fundamental atmosphere was exceptionally tense.

Consider the events of the last few days: the Trump administration's contentious incursion in the South American nation and the American leader's declaration following this, that "we need Greenland from the standpoint of defense".

The vast Arctic territory is the world's greatest island – it's six times the area of Germany. It is located in the Arctic region but is an autonomous territory of Copenhagen.

At the Paris meeting, Mette Frederiksen, Denmark's Prime Minister, was sitting facing two key figures acting for Trump: emissary Steve Witkoff and Trump's adviser Jared Kushner.

She was facing pressure from European allies to refrain from alienating the US over the Greenland issue, lest that affects US support for the Ukrainian cause.

The continent's officials would have far preferred to compartmentalize Greenland and the debate on the war distinct. But with the diplomatic heat escalating from the White House and Denmark, leaders of major states at the Paris meeting issued a declaration stating: "This territory is part of the alliance. Security in the North must therefore be attained together, in cooperation with treaty partners such as the US".

"It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them alone, to determine on matters regarding the kingdom and Greenland," the statement added.

The communique was received positively by Greenland's prime minister, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but critics say it was delayed to be drafted and, because of the restricted group of endorsers to the statement, it failed to show a Europe aligned in intent.

"Had there been a common statement from all 27 EU partners, along with NATO ally the UK, in defense of Danish control, that would have conveyed a powerful warning to America," noted a European foreign policy expert.

Reflect on the irony at hand at the France meeting. Numerous European government and other officials, from the alliance and the EU, are trying to secure the cooperation of the US administration in protecting the future independence of a continental state (the Eastern European nation) against the hostile territorial ambitions of an external actor (Russia), just after the US has intervened in sovereign Venezuela by armed intervention, arresting its head of state, while also persistently actively threatening the territorial integrity of a further EU member (Denmark).

To compound the situation – Denmark and the US are both signatories of the transatlantic alliance the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. They are, in the view of Copenhagen, exceptionally strong partners. Or were.

The issue is, were Trump to make good on his desire to acquire Greenland, would it represent not just an fundamental challenge to the alliance but also a significant problem for the European Union?

Europe Risks Being Trampled Underfoot

This is far from the first instance President Trump has expressed his determination to control the Arctic island. He's proposed buying it in the past. He's also refused to rule out a military seizure.

He insisted that the landmass is "so strategic right now, Greenland is patrolled by Russian and Chinese vessels all over the place. We need Greenland from the standpoint of strategic interests and Denmark is unable to provide security".

Denmark refutes that assertion. It recently pledged to allocate $4bn in Arctic security including boats, drones and aircraft.

Under a treaty, the US maintains a defense installation presently on Greenland – founded at the start of the Cold War. It has scaled down the number of troops there from approximately 10,000 during the height of that era to about 200 and the US has frequently been criticized of taking its eye off polar defense, recently.

Denmark has signaled it is open to discussion about a larger US presence on the island and more but confronted by the US President's threat of independent moves, the Danish PM said on Monday that the US leader's goal to acquire Greenland should be taken seriously.

Following the US administration's actions in Venezuela this past few days, her counterparts throughout Europe are heeding that warning.

"These developments has just highlighted – once again – Europe's basic weakness {