NATO countries have no means to confront the United States if it decides to seize Greenland, as the bloc does not provide for mechanisms to resolve such issues, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.
“[The alleged threat coming from China and Russia] is an entirely made-up story. There is panic within the alliance … And where can they go to file a complaint? They have been conditioned, their national legislation has been structured in such a way that complaints can only be made within NATO against those outside NATO. And there is no clause about how to complain about those within NATO,” Zakharova told Sputnik Radio.
The spokeswoman cited NATO’s Charter, which states that all issues among member states must be resolved collectively, but she zeroed in on its serious blind spot.
“It does not even state whether it is permissible or not for one NATO member country to threaten, or even threaten to use force against, another member. There isn’t such a provision anywhere. Meaning, no one built this into NATO’s mechanisms, and accordingly, there are no options for a response,” Zakharova pointed out.
Greenland is part of the Danish Kingdom. However, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated that the Arctic island should join the United States, arguing that the territory is of strategic importance for US national security. Danish and Greenlandic authorities have warned Washington against seizing the island, noting that they expect their territorial integrity to be respected.