Poland warns of 'disaster' if Nato turns on each other over Greenland: 'End of the world as we know it!'

President Donald Trump said Greenland is vital to US security and the White House must own it to prevent Russia or China from occupying it.

He has said all options are on the table for securing Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark.

Military personnel from France and Germany headed to Greenland on Thursday as Denmark and its allies prepared for exercises to try to assure Mr Trump over its security.

Mr Tusk told a press conference: "An attempt to take over (part of) a Nato member state by another Nato member state would be a political disaster.

"It would be the end of the world as we know it, which guaranteed a world based on Nato solidarity, which held back the evil forces associated with communist terror or other forms of aggression."

He added he would do everything he could to ensure that Europe remained united on the issue of Greenland.

Greenland and Denmark have reiterated the island is not for sale and that threats of force are reckless.

After news of the presence of military personnel on the island broke, Denmark's Defence Minister told journalists in Copenhagen on Thursday he did not have a final figure for the envisaged expanded Nato presence in Greenland.

Troels Lund Poulsen said: "But it is clear that we now will be able to plan for a larger and more permanent presence throughout 2026 and that is crucial to show that security in the Arctic is not only for the Kingdom of Denmark, it is for all of Nato."

Germany, France, Sweden, Norway, Finland and the Netherlands have said they are sending military staff to begin preparations for larger drills later this year.

The White House said the meeting between US officials and representatives from Denmark and Greenland had been productive and warned sending European troops to Greenland would not affect Mr Trump's thinking about the territory.

Spokesman Karoline Leavitt said: "I don't think troops in Europe impact the president's decision-making process, nor does it impact his goal of the acquisition of Greenland at all."

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on Wednesday about 200 US troops were currently stationed in Greenland, which has a population of around 57,000.

The scale of the planned European military build-up has not been made public, but initial deployments appear small.

The Kremlin said on Thursday Nato's talk of Russia and China being a threat to Greenland was a myth designed to artificially whip up hysteria.

Russian spokesmen took aim at what it called the Western alliance's policy of escalating confrontation in the Arctic was extremely dangerous.

The Russian embassy in Belgium said in a statement: "Nato has embarked on a course of accelerated militarisation of the North, building up its military presence there under the fictitious pretext of a growing threat from Moscow and Beijing.

"We can see that the alliance is using high-profile statements from Washington on the Greenland issue solely to promote an anti-Russian and anti-Chinese agenda."

In Greenland, residents are anxious for the future with some concerned about Mr Trump's proposed plans for the territory.

Liv Aurora Jensen, who lives just outside capital Nuuk, said: "I have been sleeping very, very badly, really.

"I was talking to my sister yesterday and I told her: 'I'm trying not to get a panic attack.' I really have to control myself not to start crying or panicking, and not to let all my thoughts spin out of control...It's really frightening."

Her husband Peter said: "I hope the outcome will be that we continue, as we have done before, that Greenland is not taken over by the United States, but we have cooperation with the other countries such as the European Union, Denmark, and of course the United States."

"We want to be a people and country as we always have been. I think it's possible."

Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter