Sweden's Ex-PM Signals Openness to Deploying Troops to Greenland

(MENAFN) Sweden's former Prime Minister and current opposition leader Magdalena Andersson has signaled openness to deploying Swedish military personnel to Greenland as part of a coordinated European response supporting Denmark, which governs the autonomous Arctic territory and has rejected US territorial ambitions.

Andersson, who leads the Social Democrats and served as prime minister from 2021 to 2022, told Swedish newspaper Dagens ETC on Sunday that she was "no stranger to increased military presence in Greenland," explicitly including Swedish forces among potential contributors.

"It is of course important that Sweden and all European countries stand firmly behind Greenland and Denmark, and that we in Sweden are now also considering what we can do, as Denmark has asked for support," she said during the annual People and Armed Forces National Conference in the town of Salen.

Her statement follows a proposal from her party's youth wing advocating for EU troop deployments to Greenland to counter what they characterized as threatening language from President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly floated the possibility of the Arctic island becoming US territory.

When directly questioned whether Swedish troops could be dispatched, Andersson responded: "Of course, together with others," emphasizing that such action would necessitate formal requests from Denmark and Greenland.

Sweden's current Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, also attending the conference, cautioned that smaller nations face mounting vulnerability as the rules-based international framework erodes.

"The threats to the rules-based world order are greater than in decades," he said, characterizing Washington's recent actions in Venezuela and rhetoric toward Denmark and Greenland as "very serious."

On Friday, leaders representing Greenland's political parties unanimously reaffirmed opposition to US annexation, declaring: "We do not want to be Americans, we do not want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders."

Speaking Friday, Trump stated: "We are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not, because if we don't do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we're not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor."

He added, again refusing to rule out a military option: "I would like to make a deal the easy way, but if we don't do it the easy way, we will do it the hard way."

Trump's comments have triggered widespread international condemnation, with European nations particularly warning that such territorial aggression could precipitate NATO's dissolution and fundamentally destabilize transatlantic security architecture.

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