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Just this morning, a so-called Coalition of the Determined, predominantly made up of European heads of state, gathered in the French capital with envoys of President Trump, attempting to achieve further progress on a sustainable settlement for the embattled nation.

With President Volodymyr Zelensky asserting that a framework to halt the war with Russia is "90% of the way there", no-one in that room desired to risk retaining the US engaged.

Yet, there was an enormous unspoken issue in that impressive and glittering Paris meeting, and the fundamental atmosphere was extremely uneasy.

Recall the events of the recent days: the White House's controversial intervention in the South American nation and the US president's insistence shortly thereafter, that "we need Greenland from the perspective of national security".

This massive island is the world's greatest island – it's six times the size of Germany. It is located in the Arctic region but is an semi-independent possession of Denmark's.

At the summit, Mette Frederiksen, the Danish Prime Minister, was seated facing two influential figures speaking on behalf of Trump: emissary Steve Witkoff and Trump's relative Jared Kushner.

She was subject to urging from her EU allies not to alienating the US over the Arctic question, for fear that that affects US support for the Ukrainian cause.

Europe's leaders would have far preferred to compartmentalize Greenland and the discussions on the war distinct. But with the political temperature mounting from Washington and Copenhagen, representatives of major states at the talks released a communiqué asserting: "This territory is part of NATO. Stability in the North must therefore be secured collectively, in cooperation with treaty partners including the United States".

"The decision is for Copenhagen and the Greenlandic authorities, and no one else, to rule on affairs concerning the kingdom and its autonomous territory," the communiqué further stated.

The statement was greeted by Greenland's prime minister, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but critics say it was slow to be drafted and, owing to the small set of signatories to the declaration, it failed to project a Europe aligned in purpose.

"If there had been a unified statement from all 27 European Union countries, along with NATO ally the UK, in defense of Danish control, that would have conveyed a powerful signal to the US," stated a European foreign policy analyst.

Consider the paradox at hand at the France meeting. Numerous European national and other leaders, from NATO and the EU, are trying to engage the US administration in protecting the future independence of a European country (the Eastern European nation) against the aggressive territorial ambitions of an external actor (Moscow), on the heels of the US has intervened in independent Venezuela militarily, arresting its head of state, while also continuing to publicly threatening the sovereignty of a different continental ally (Denmark).

To compound the situation – Denmark and the US are both signatories of the transatlantic alliance NATO. They are, in the view of Copenhagen, profoundly key friends. At least, they were.

The question is, were Trump to make good on his goal to acquire Greenland, would it mark not just an existential threat to the alliance but also a profound problem for the EU?

Europe Faces the Danger of Being Overlooked

This is not the first time President Trump has expressed his intention to acquire the Arctic island. He's floated the idea of buying it in the past. He's also not excluded taking it by force.

On Sunday that the island is "so strategic right now, it is covered with Russian and Chinese naval assets all over the place. Our security demands Greenland from the perspective of defense and Copenhagen is incapable to handle it".

Denmark strongly denies that last statement. It not long ago vowed to invest $4bn in Arctic security encompassing boats, drones and aircraft.

As per a bilateral agreement, the US operates a defense installation already on Greenland – founded at the start of the East-West standoff. It has reduced the total of staff there from approximately 10,000 during the height of the confrontation to approximately 200 and the US has frequently been criticized of neglecting polar defense, up to this point.

Denmark has signaled it is amenable to dialogue about a larger US presence on the island and more but confronted by the US President's warning of unilateral action, the Danish PM said on Monday that Trump's ambition to control Greenland should be taken seriously.

In the wake of the Washington's moves in Venezuela this past few days, her fellow leaders throughout Europe are taking it seriously.

"These developments has just emphasized – yet again – the EU's basic weakness {