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Earlier today, a self-styled Alliance of the Willing, largely composed of European leaders, gathered in the French capital with representatives of the Trump administration, hoping to secure further headway on a lasting settlement for the embattled nation.

With President Volodymyr Zelensky asserting that a roadmap to halt the war with Russia is "largely complete", not a single person in that gathering wanted to jeopardise maintaining the Washington onboard.

Yet, there was an immense unspoken issue in that impressive and luxurious summit, and the underlying tension was profoundly strained.

Recall the actions of the recent days: the US administration's divisive intervention in the South American nation and the President Trump's insistence shortly thereafter, that "we need Greenland from the standpoint of strategic interests".

Greenland is the world's largest island – it's six times the size of Germany. It lies in the far north but is an autonomous possession of Denmark's.

At the conference, Mette Frederiksen, Copenhagen's leader, was seated opposite two powerful personalities acting for Trump: special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's relative Jared Kushner.

She was under pressure from European allies to refrain from alienating the US over the Greenland issue, for fear that that undermines US backing for the Ukrainian cause.

Europe's leaders would have far preferred to separate Greenland and the discussions on Ukraine apart. But with the political temperature rising from the White House and Copenhagen, representatives of leading European nations at the gathering released a communiqué saying: "Greenland is part of NATO. Defense in the Arctic must therefore be attained collectively, in partnership with NATO allies like the US".

"It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters related to Denmark and its autonomous territory," the communiqué continued.

The announcement was received positively by Nuuk's head of government, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but observers contend it was delayed to be drafted and, due to the small group of signatories to the declaration, it did not manage to project a European Union in agreement in intent.

"Were there a common declaration from all 27 European Union countries, in addition to alliance partner the UK, in defense of Copenhagen's control, that would have conveyed a resounding message to Washington," noted a EU defense analyst.

Reflect on the paradox at play at the European gathering. Numerous EU national and other officials, from the alliance and the EU, are trying to engage the White House in protecting the future independence of a continental state (the Eastern European nation) against the expansionist territorial ambitions of an outside force (Moscow), just after the US has swooped into independent Venezuela militarily, arresting its head of state, while also still openly undermining the autonomy of another European nation (the Kingdom of Denmark).

To make matters even more stark – Copenhagen and the US are both signatories of the transatlantic alliance the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. They are, as stated by Copenhagen, exceptionally close allies. Previously, they were considered so.

The issue is, if Trump were to act upon his ambition to bring Greenland under US control, would it represent not just an existential threat to NATO but also a major problem for the European Union?

Europe Faces the Danger of Being Overlooked

This is not the first time Trump has expressed his resolve to dominate Greenland. He's floated the idea of acquiring it in the past. He's also not excluded forcible annexation.

Recently that the island is "vitally important right now, Greenland is frequented by foreign naval assets all over the place. It is imperative to have Greenland from the perspective of national security and Copenhagen is incapable to provide security".

Copenhagen contests that assertion. It recently vowed to invest $4bn in the island's defense encompassing boats, drones and aircraft.

Pursuant to a treaty, the US maintains a defense installation already on Greenland – established at the start of the East-West standoff. It has reduced the total of troops there from approximately 10,000 during peak that era to approximately 200 and the US has frequently been criticized of taking its eye off Arctic Security, up to this point.

Copenhagen has signaled it is amenable to dialogue about a larger US presence on the territory and further cooperation but in light of the US President's assertion of going it alone, the Danish PM said on Monday that the US leader's goal to acquire Greenland should be considered a real possibility.

In the wake of the American intervention in Venezuela this weekend, her fellow leaders throughout Europe are taking it seriously.

"These developments has just underlined – yet again – Europe's basic shortcoming {