Spain’s Defence Minister Margarita Robles has said the country could take part in a surveillance and reconnaissance mission in Greenland amid continued threats from US President Donald Trump.
Speaking to reporters at Congress on Thursday, Robles confirmed that Spain has not ruled out participation in a Danish-led military exercise focused on strengthening monitoring and situational awareness in Greenland.
The mission already includes France, Sweden, Germany and Norway, which announced their involvement after talks on Wednesday between US, Danish and Greenlandic authorities failed to ease concerns over Trump’s remarks.
Trump has reiterated his long-standing claim that Greenland should be annexed by the US, citing ‘security’ concerns linked to China and Russia. Denmark and Greenland have firmly rejected the idea.
Robles said Spain is in ongoing contact with its allies and that a decision could be taken between Thursday and Friday, depending on how discussions progress.
‘We will see how things develop today and tomorrow morning. There are meetings taking place and, based on that, we will take decisions,’ she said.
She underlined that Spain remains aligned with its NATO and European partners, but insisted on the need for ‘prudence and discretion’ at a sensitive moment.
Asked whether a hypothetical US move to annex Greenland would spell the end of NATO, Robles dismissed the scenario.
‘I don’t think so. I sincerely believe such an annexation would be unacceptable and extremely serious, but I don’t believe we are facing that situation,’ she said.
The potential mission would be framed as a military exercise under Danish leadership, rather than a combat deployment, and would focus on surveillance in the Arctic at a time of growing geopolitical competition in the region.
