BRUSSELS (Reuters) -NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen agreed at a meeting on Tuesday that allies need to focus on strengthening defences in the Arctic, a source familiar with the talks told Reuters. "They agreed that in this effort all allies have a role to play," the source said after the meeting.

Denmark's sovereignty is an "essential issue" for the EU, the European Council President said in an interview on Wednesday, as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to express interest in claiming Greenland for the United States.

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The prime minister does a European tour while announcing more spending on security around the island, following President Trump’s stated desire to have Greenland, a semiautonomous Danish territory, as part of the U.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen emphasized the need for stronger Arctic defenses during their meeting on Tuesday, a source told Reuters. Both leaders agreed that all

Denmark's prime minister says she has received strong backing from Europe amid President Trump's threats to take over Greenland. Ahead of her meeting with NATO chief in Brussels, Mette Frederiksen emphasised there was no reason to believe that there is any military threat to Greenland or Denmark.

Faced with increasing pressure from President Donald Trump to hand over the strategically important island of Greenland to the U.S., Denmark has announced plans to beef up its military presence there.

Europe is uniting in response to US President Donald Trump’s efforts to appropriate Greenland. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen sought to drum up support from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris before a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

The EU and Nato have taken a vow of silence over Greenland after Denmark requested its allies refrain from reacting to Donald Trump’s threats to seize the Arctic island.

US president spoke to Danish premier for 45 minutes last week and made clear he wanted to place Greenland under American control

Greenland, a strategically important Arctic island, has gained international attention after President Trump declared his intention to buy it.