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This very day, a informal Group of the Committed, mostly composed of European officials, convened in the French capital with envoys of the Trump administration, hoping to achieve additional advances on a sustainable peace agreement for the embattled nation.

With President Volodymyr Zelensky insisting that a plan to end the conflict with Russia is "90% of the way there", nobody in that gathering wanted to endanger maintaining the US engaged.

Yet, there was an enormous unspoken issue in that impressive and sparkling Paris meeting, and the underlying atmosphere was exceptionally strained.

Recall the developments of the recent days: the US administration's contentious involvement in Venezuela and the President Trump's assertion shortly thereafter, that "we need Greenland from the viewpoint of defense".

Greenland is the world's greatest island – it's six times the dimensions of Germany. It is situated in the far north but is an self-governing region of Denmark's.

At the conference, Mette Frederiksen, Denmark's Prime Minister, was seated across from two key individuals speaking on behalf of Trump: emissary Steve Witkoff and Trump's relative Jared Kushner.

She was under pressure from her EU colleagues to refrain from antagonising the US over Greenland, lest that impacts US assistance for Ukraine.

EU heads of state would have far preferred to keep the Arctic dispute and the negotiations on the war apart. But with the diplomatic heat rising from the White House and Denmark, representatives of leading states at the Paris meeting released a statement asserting: "Greenland is part of the alliance. Security in the North must therefore be secured collectively, in partnership with treaty partners like the United States".

"Sovereignty is for Copenhagen and the Greenlandic authorities, and no one else, to determine on matters regarding Denmark and its autonomous territory," the declaration further stated.

The statement was welcomed by Nuuk's head of government, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but analysts argue it was delayed to be formulated and, due to the small number of supporters to the statement, it did not manage to project a European Union aligned in objective.

"Were there a joint position from all 27 member states, in addition to NATO ally the UK, in defense of Danish authority, that would have sent a powerful signal to the US," stated a European foreign policy analyst.

Consider the contradiction at work at the France meeting. Numerous EU national and other officials, including the alliance and the European Union, are attempting to secure the cooperation of the White House in guaranteeing the future sovereignty of a EU nation (the Eastern European nation) against the hostile territorial ambitions of an outside force (Russia), immediately after the US has entered sovereign Venezuela with force, arresting its head of state, while also persistently actively challenging the sovereignty of a different EU member (the Kingdom of Denmark).

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

The question is, should Trump make good on his desire to assert control over the island, would it constitute not just an severe risk to the alliance but also a profound challenge for the European Union?

Europe Risks Being Trampled Underfoot

This is far from the first instance Trump has expressed his resolve to dominate the Arctic island. He's suggested acquiring it in the past. He's also not excluded forcible annexation.

He insisted that the territory is "vitally important right now, Greenland is patrolled by foreign vessels all over the place. We need Greenland from the standpoint of strategic interests and Copenhagen is not going to be able to handle it".

Denmark strongly denies that claim. It has lately vowed to invest $4bn in Greenland defence for boats, drones and aircraft.

Pursuant to a mutual pact, the US operates a strategic outpost already on the island – founded at the start of the East-West standoff. It has scaled down the number of staff there from about 10,000 during the height of that era to approximately 200 and the US has long been accused of neglecting Arctic Security, until now.

Copenhagen has signaled it is willing to talk about a larger US presence on the territory and further cooperation but faced with the US President's threat of unilateral action, Frederiksen said on Monday that the US leader's goal to acquire Greenland should be taken seriously.

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

"These developments has just underlined – for the umpteenth time – Europe's core shortcoming {