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Earlier today, a so-called Alliance of the Willing, mostly made up of EU officials, convened in Paris with representatives of US President Donald Trump, hoping to make additional headway on a durable peace deal for the embattled nation.

With President Volodymyr Zelensky declaring that a framework to conclude the hostilities with Russia is "nearly finalized", no-one in that room wanted to endanger keeping the Washington engaged.

Yet, there was an colossal elephant in the room in that opulent and luxurious summit, and the prevailing mood was exceptionally strained.

Consider the events of the recent days: the US administration's controversial intervention in the South American nation and the American leader's assertion following this, that "we need Greenland from the viewpoint of defense".

The vast Arctic territory is the world's biggest island – it's six times the dimensions of Germany. It is located in the Arctic but is an self-governing possession of Copenhagen.

At the conference, Mette Frederiksen, Copenhagen's leader, was positioned opposite two powerful personalities representing Trump: emissary Steve Witkoff and Trump's adviser Jared Kushner.

She was subject to urging from her EU counterparts not to provoking the US over Greenland, lest that impacts US backing for the Ukrainian cause.

EU heads of state would have much rather to compartmentalize Greenland and the discussions on the war apart. But with the political temperature mounting from Washington and Copenhagen, leaders of big European nations at the gathering released a communiqué saying: "This territory is part of NATO. Defense in the Arctic must therefore be attained jointly, in cooperation with NATO allies like the America".

"The decision is for Denmark and the Greenlandic authorities, and no one else, to determine on matters regarding the kingdom and its autonomous territory," the declaration added.

The communique was received positively by the island's leader, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but observers contend it was tardy to be formulated and, owing to the small group of signatories to the statement, it was unable to project a Europe in agreement in objective.

"Were there a common declaration from all 27 EU partners, in addition to NATO ally the UK, in backing of Copenhagen's sovereignty, that would have delivered a powerful message to Washington," commented a European defense specialist.

Ponder the contradiction at hand at the European gathering. Several EU national and other leaders, from NATO and the EU, are trying to engage the Trump administration in safeguarding the future sovereignty of a EU nation (Ukraine) against the hostile territorial ambitions of an outside force (Moscow), on the heels of the US has entered sovereign Venezuela militarily, arresting its head of state, while also persistently openly challenging the autonomy of another EU member (the Kingdom of Denmark).

To make matters even more stark – Denmark and the US are both members of the transatlantic alliance the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. They are, as stated by Copenhagen, extremely strong partners. Or were.

The issue is, should Trump act upon his goal to acquire Greenland, would it mark not just an severe risk to NATO but also a major problem for the European Union?

Europe Faces the Danger of Being Overlooked

This is far from the first instance Trump has spoken of his intention to acquire the Arctic island. He's proposed buying it in the past. He's also not excluded taking it by force.

On Sunday that the island is "vitally important right now, it is covered with foreign naval assets all over the place. We need Greenland from the perspective of defense and Copenhagen is not going to be able to provide security".

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

Under a mutual pact, the US operates a strategic outpost presently on the island – founded at the beginning of the East-West standoff. It has cut the figure of troops there from around 10,000 during the height of Cold War operations to around 200 and the US has frequently been criticized of taking its eye off Arctic Security, up to this point.

Denmark has signaled it is amenable to dialogue about a expanded US footprint on the territory and further cooperation but confronted by the US President's threat of going it alone, Frederiksen said on Monday that the US leader's goal to take Greenland should be taken seriously.

After the US administration's actions in Venezuela this weekend, her fellow leaders in Europe are doing just that.

"These developments has just emphasized – once again – Europe's core weakness {