Copenhagen, 20 January 2026 (dpa/MIA) - Denmark and Greenland on Monday proposed a NATO mission for the Arctic region in an attempt to find a way out of the conflict over Greenland with the United States.

Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen announced the move at a press conference held along with Greenland Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Motzfeldt, Danish broadcaster DR reported.

Lund Poulsen is reported to have said that the US is important for European security. "There are many things that Europe cannot do on its own," he said.

He added: "But some comments coming from the US president cause great pain."

The precise details of the proposal and the response from NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte remain unknown.

Trump's insistence that the US needs to own Greenland - which is largely autonomous, but with defence and foreign affairs being conducted from Copenhagen - has caused great controversy within NATO.

Trump has made clear that he sees the island's security as inadequately guaranteed by NATO.

In a post on X, Rutte wrote: "We discussed how important the Arctic - including Greenland - is to our collective security & how Denmark is stepping up investments in key capabilities."

"We'll continue to work together as Allies on these important issues," the NATO secretary general added.