The head of NATO's forces in Europe, US General Alexus Grynkewich, said on Friday the military alliance was far from being in "a crisis", following President Donald Trump's threats to bring Greenland under US control.
"There's been no impact on my work at the military level up to this point... I would just say that we're ready to defend every inch of alliance territory still today," Grynkewich told reporters during a visit to Finland.
"So I see us as far from being in a crisis right now," he added.
President Trump has not ruled out the use of military force to acquire the strategically located Arctic island with a population of 57,000 people.
NATO or Greenlad: “It may be a choice”
In an interview with The New York Times published Thursday, President Trump was asked if his priority was preserving the NATO military alliance or acquiring Greenland, and he told the newspaper: "It may be a choice."
Asked by a reporter about Trump's statement, Grynkewich said he did not wish to comment on whether NATO would survive without the US.
Trump has long talked about acquiring Greenland, but has ramped up his threats since the US military attack on Venezuela and the abduction of President Nicolas Maduro last week.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is due to meet officials from Denmark and Greenland next week.
US presence in Greenland
Washington already has a military presence in Greenland, the Pituffik base, which dates from World War II, when the United States sent forces to defend Greenland after Denmark fell to Nazi Germany.
Some 150 personnel are permanently stationed at the base, but the United States stationed up to 6,000 troops across Greenland during the Cold War, largely out of concerns that any Soviet missile would cross the island on its way to North America.
Under a 1951 treaty, the United States could simply notify Denmark that it is again sending more troops.
“Worried about Trump's statements”
Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk is very worried about United States President Donald Trump's statements about Greenland, he said on Friday, adding that as a loyal American ally, Warsaw should be honest with Washington about its concerns.
"I'm very concerned about the Greenland issue, and I'm also very concerned about events in the United States, and everything that's building such ideological and political tension within NATO and the United States itself," Tusk told a news conference.
"But because we're allies, friends, and Poland is an exceptionally loyal ally of the United States, I also believe that when you're in such a position, you don't do anything on your knees; you just say what you think. Among friends, you should speak honestly about what's right and what's wrong."
Italy wants more NATO presence in Greenland
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Friday she does not believe the United States will attack Greenland, but that its "assertive methods" were intended to dissuade interference from other countries.
Meloni said NATO should focus more on the Arctic region and ensure a "significant presence" of allies to preserve security and keep out hostile countries.
"I continue not to believe in the hypothesis that the United States would launch a military action to take control of Greenland, an option I would clearly not support," Meloni said.
"I believe it would not be in anyone's interest. I think it would not even be in the interest of the United States of America, to be clear," she added.
