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Earlier today, a self-styled Coalition of the Willing, mostly made up of EU leaders, convened in Paris with envoys of US President Donald Trump, aiming to achieve more advances on a sustainable peace agreement for the embattled nation.

With President Volodymyr Zelensky declaring that a framework to end the conflict with Russia is "nearly finalized", not a single person in that room wished to jeopardise retaining the Americans engaged.

Yet, there was an immense unspoken issue in that grand and luxurious gathering, and the prevailing tension was exceptionally uneasy.

Recall the events of the last few days: the Trump administration's divisive involvement in Venezuela and the US president's assertion soon after, that "our national security requires Greenland from the perspective of strategic interests".

Greenland is the world's largest island – it's sixfold the size of Germany. It is located in the far north but is an self-governing region of Denmark's.

At the summit, Mette Frederiksen, Copenhagen's leader, was sitting facing two key personalities speaking on behalf of Trump: diplomat Steve Witkoff and Trump's relative Jared Kushner.

She was facing pressure from European allies not to alienating the US over the Arctic question, lest that impacts US backing for Ukraine.

EU heads of state would have much rather to keep the Arctic dispute and the negotiations on Ukraine distinct. But with the political temperature rising from the White House and Denmark, representatives of major states at the gathering released a statement stating: "The island is part of NATO. Defense in the Arctic must therefore be attained together, in partnership with alliance members including the US".

"Sovereignty is for Denmark and the Greenlandic authorities, and them alone, to rule on matters regarding the kingdom and its autonomous territory," the statement continued.

The announcement was greeted by Nuuk's head of government, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but observers argue it was tardy to be drafted and, due to the limited group of endorsers to the statement, it was unable to demonstrate a European Union united in objective.

"Had there been a unified statement from all 27 EU partners, in addition to NATO ally the UK, in backing of Copenhagen's authority, that would have delivered a strong signal to Washington," commented a European foreign policy expert.

Reflect on the paradox at work at the Paris summit. Numerous EU national and other leaders, from NATO and the European Union, are attempting to secure the cooperation of the White House in safeguarding the future sovereignty of a continental state (Ukraine) against the aggressive land claims of an external actor (Russia), just after the US has swooped into independent Venezuela by armed intervention, detaining its leader, while also continuing to openly challenging the territorial integrity of another continental ally (the Kingdom of Denmark).

To add to the complexity – Denmark and the US are both participants of the military bloc NATO. They are, as stated by Copenhagen, exceptionally key friends. Previously, they were considered so.

The dilemma is, if Trump were to fulfill his desire to acquire Greenland, would it represent not just an existential threat to the alliance but also a major crisis for the EU?

Europe Faces the Danger of Being Trampled Underfoot

This is not the first time President Trump has voiced his intention to acquire the Arctic island. He's proposed acquiring it in the past. He's also left open the possibility of a military seizure.

Recently that the territory is "vitally important right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. It is imperative to have Greenland from the vantage point of defense and Denmark is not going to be able to provide security".

Denmark strongly denies that claim. It recently vowed to allocate $4bn in the island's defense for boats, drones and aircraft.

As per a bilateral agreement, the US has a military base presently on the island – set up at the start of the Cold War. It has scaled down the total of personnel there from about 10,000 during the height of that era to approximately 200 and the US has frequently been criticized of taking its eye off polar defense, recently.

Denmark has signaled it is willing to talk about a expanded US footprint on the territory and additional measures but confronted by the US President's assertion of unilateral action, the Danish PM said on Monday that the US leader's goal to control Greenland should be taken seriously.

Following the Washington's moves in Venezuela this past few days, her counterparts in Europe are taking it seriously.

"This whole situation has just emphasized – for the umpteenth time – Europe's basic weakness {