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This very day, a informal Alliance of the Determined, predominantly composed of EU heads of state, gathered in Paris with envoys of President Trump, attempting to achieve further progress on a durable peace deal for the embattled nation.

With President Volodymyr Zelensky declaring that a roadmap to halt the war with Russia is "90% of the way there", no-one in that gathering wanted to endanger maintaining the Washington involved.

Yet, there was an immense glaring omission in that opulent and luxurious gathering, and the underlying mood was profoundly tense.

Consider the developments of the past week: the Trump administration's contentious intervention in Venezuela and the American leader's assertion following this, that "our national security requires Greenland from the viewpoint of national security".

This massive island is the world's biggest island – it's six times the dimensions of Germany. It is situated in the Arctic but is an semi-independent region of Denmark's.

At the summit, Mette Frederiksen, Denmark's Prime Minister, was sitting opposite two influential individuals representing Trump: diplomat Steve Witkoff and Trump's adviser Jared Kushner.

She was subject to urging from European counterparts to refrain from antagonising the US over the Greenland issue, lest that impacts US assistance for Ukraine.

The continent's officials would have much rather to compartmentalize Greenland and the discussions on Ukraine distinct. But with the political temperature mounting from the White House and Copenhagen, representatives of major European nations at the talks issued a communiqué stating: "The island is part of NATO. Defense in the Arctic must therefore be secured jointly, in cooperation with NATO allies like the United States".

"The decision is for Denmark and the Greenlandic authorities, and them alone, to determine on matters related to Denmark and its autonomous territory," the communiqué continued.

The statement was greeted by Greenland's prime minister, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but analysts contend it was tardy to be formulated and, owing to the limited number of signatories to the statement, it did not manage to show a European Union united in objective.

"If there had been a unified declaration from all 27 EU partners, plus alliance partner the UK, in defense of Copenhagen's authority, that would have sent a resounding signal to America," commented a EU defense expert.

Reflect on the irony at hand at the France meeting. Several European national and other leaders, such as NATO and the European Union, are seeking to secure the cooperation of the White House in guaranteeing the future independence of a continental state (the Eastern European nation) against the aggressive territorial ambitions of an outside force (Russia), on the heels of the US has intervened in sovereign Venezuela with force, taking its president into custody, while also persistently publicly threatening the territorial integrity of a different EU member (Denmark).

To compound the situation – Copenhagen and the US are both participants of the defensive pact NATO. They are, as stated by Copenhagen, exceptionally close allies. Or were.

The dilemma is, should Trump make good on his goal to bring Greenland under US control, would it mark not just an existential threat to NATO but also a significant problem for the European Union?

Europe Risks Being Overlooked

This is not the first time President Trump has spoken of his determination to dominate the Arctic island. He's floated the idea of buying it in the past. He's also left open the possibility of forcible annexation.

He insisted that the island is "so strategic right now, it is covered with foreign naval assets all over the place. We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security and Denmark is not going to be able to do it".

Copenhagen strongly denies that last statement. It recently vowed to allocate $4bn in the island's defense including boats, drones and aircraft.

As per a bilateral agreement, the US maintains a strategic outpost currently on Greenland – founded at the start of the Cold War. It has scaled down the total of troops there from about 10,000 during peak the confrontation to approximately 200 and the US has long been accused of neglecting polar defense, up to this point.

Denmark has suggested it is open to discussion about a expanded US footprint on the territory and further cooperation but in light of the US President's assertion of going it alone, Frederiksen said on Monday that Trump's ambition to take Greenland should be treated with gravity.

Following the American intervention in Venezuela this past few days, her colleges in Europe are taking it seriously.

"These developments has just emphasized – once again – Europe's basic shortcoming {