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Just this morning, a self-styled Coalition of the Committed, predominantly consisting of European leaders, gathered in the French capital with delegates of US President Donald Trump, attempting to make further headway on a sustainable settlement for the embattled nation.

With Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky insisting that a roadmap to end the hostilities with Russia is "nearly finalized", not a single person in that meeting wanted to endanger keeping the US onboard.

Yet, there was an colossal unspoken issue in that impressive and sparkling summit, and the underlying mood was profoundly uneasy.

Recall the developments of the recent days: the White House's contentious intervention in Venezuela and the American leader's declaration soon after, that "we need Greenland from the viewpoint of national security".

This massive island is the world's greatest island – it's 600% the area of Germany. It lies in the Arctic but is an self-governing region of Copenhagen.

At the summit, Mette Frederiksen, Denmark's Prime Minister, was positioned facing two key personalities acting for Trump: special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's relative Jared Kushner.

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

Europe's leaders would have greatly desired to compartmentalize the Arctic dispute and the negotiations on Ukraine distinct. But with the political temperature rising from Washington and Copenhagen, representatives of big European nations at the gathering put out a declaration saying: "This territory is part of NATO. Defense in the North must therefore be secured collectively, in cooperation with NATO allies like the United States".

"Sovereignty is for Denmark and the Greenlandic authorities, and them alone, to rule on issues related to Denmark and its autonomous territory," the declaration added.

The communique was welcomed by the island's leader, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but analysts say it was delayed to be put together and, due to the limited group of signatories to the statement, it was unable to show a Europe aligned in intent.

"Had there been a joint statement from all 27 member states, plus NATO ally the UK, in defense of Copenhagen's sovereignty, that would have delivered a resounding signal to the US," stated a European defense expert.

Ponder the paradox at play at the France meeting. Multiple EU government and other leaders, such as the alliance and the EU, are attempting to engage the US administration in guaranteeing the future sovereignty of a EU nation (the Eastern European nation) against the expansionist land claims of an outside force (Moscow), just after the US has swooped into independent Venezuela by armed intervention, taking its president into custody, while also persistently openly challenging the autonomy of a further EU member (Denmark).

To compound the situation – Denmark and the US are both participants of the military bloc the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. They are, as stated by Danish officials, profoundly close allies. Previously, they were considered so.

The question is, if Trump were to make good on his desire to bring Greenland under US control, would it represent not just an existential threat to the alliance but also a profound crisis for the EU?

Europe Risks Being Marginalized

This is far from the first instance President Trump has voiced his intention to control the Arctic island. He's proposed acquiring it in the past. He's also not excluded forcible annexation.

He insisted that the territory is "vitally important right now, Greenland is frequented by foreign ships all over the place. Our security demands Greenland from the vantage point of strategic interests and Denmark is not going to be able to provide security".

Denmark refutes that claim. It recently vowed to allocate $4bn in Arctic security for boats, drones and aircraft.

As per a bilateral agreement, the US maintains a military base already on Greenland – set up at the beginning of the Cold War. It has cut the total of troops there from around 10,000 during the height of that era to around 200 and the US has long been accused of overlooking the northern theater, recently.

Copenhagen has signaled it is amenable to dialogue about a expanded US role on the territory and additional measures but in light of the US President's threat of going it alone, the Danish PM said on Monday that the US leader's goal to acquire Greenland should be taken seriously.

In the wake of the Washington's moves in Venezuela this past few days, her counterparts throughout Europe are doing just that.

"The current crisis has just highlighted – yet again – the EU's core shortcoming {