BERLIN, Jan 14 (Reuters) – Germany will send 13 soldiers to Greenland on Thursday as part of a reconnaissance mission with other European nations, the German government and defence ministry said on Wednesday, following demands by President Donald Trump for Washington to have control of the island.
The mission, which comes at the request of Denmark, will take place from Thursday to Saturday, aiming to explore possible military contributions to bolster the security of the region, a defence ministry statement said.
This could, for example, include maritime surveillance, it added.
Trump has repeatedly said in recent weeks that Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark that is strategically located and rich in minerals, is vital to U.S. security, and that the United States must own it to prevent Russia or China from occupying it.
He has said all options are on the table for securing the territory, rhetoric that has severely strained relations between Europe and the U.S.
Earlier Wednesday, Sweden and Norway announced that they would send military personnel to the island.
(Reporting by Andreas Rinke and Rachel More, Editing by Timothy Heritage and Chizu Nomiyama )
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