BRUSSELS (Reuters) -NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen agreed at a meeting on Tuesday that allies need to focus on strengthening defences in the Arctic, a source familiar with the talks told Reuters.
"They agreed that in this effort all allies have a role to play," the source said after the meeting.
Their talks come amid widespread concern over U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly expressing his interest since his re-election in November in making Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, a part of the United States.
Trump has said Greenland is vital to U.S. security and Denmark must give up control of the strategically important Arctic island, and he has not ruled out using military or economic power to achieve his goal.
He has also been at loggerheads with NATO and the U.S.' European allies over defence spending and said that under his presidency, the U.S. will fundamentally rethink "NATO's purpose and NATO's mission."
For its part, Denmark said on Monday it would spend 14.6 billion Danish crowns ($2.0 billion) boosting its military presence in the Arctic.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said earlier on Tuesday, after a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, that political leaders in Europe and beyond had given their full backing to the principle of maintaining respect for international borders - another veiled reference to Trump's interest in Greenland.
(Reporting by Sabine Siebold; Writing by Benoit Van Overstraeten; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Hugh Lawson)
