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Just this morning, a so-called Alliance of the Committed, largely made up of European leaders, convened in Paris with envoys of President Trump, attempting to make further progress on a sustainable peace deal for Ukraine.

With President Volodymyr Zelensky declaring that a plan to conclude the conflict with Russia is "nearly finalized", no-one in that room desired to endanger keeping the Washington involved.

Yet, there was an colossal unspoken issue in that grand and sparkling gathering, and the prevailing tension was exceptionally uneasy.

Consider the actions of the last few days: the White House's divisive incursion in Venezuela and the US president's insistence following this, that "it is essential to have Greenland from the standpoint of defense".

The vast Arctic territory is the world's biggest island – it's sixfold the area of Germany. It is located in the Arctic region but is an semi-independent possession of Copenhagen.

At the conference, Mette Frederiksen, the Danish Prime Minister, was seated across from two powerful personalities speaking on behalf of Trump: diplomat Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

She was subject to urging from European allies not to provoking the US over Greenland, lest that impacts US support for Ukraine.

Europe's leaders would have greatly desired to separate the Arctic dispute and the negotiations on the war separate. But with the diplomatic heat mounting from the White House and Denmark, representatives of leading European nations at the Paris meeting put out a declaration asserting: "The island is part of the alliance. Security in the Arctic must therefore be attained jointly, in partnership with treaty partners such as the US".

"It is for Copenhagen and the Greenlandic authorities, and them only, to determine on affairs regarding Denmark and Greenland," the communiqué added.

The statement was greeted by the island's leader, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but analysts contend it was delayed to be drafted and, owing to the limited set of signatories to the declaration, it was unable to project a European Union in agreement in intent.

"Had there been a common declaration from all 27 member states, in addition to NATO ally the UK, in defense of Danish sovereignty, that would have conveyed a resounding message to Washington," noted a EU foreign policy expert.

Ponder the irony at play at the France meeting. Numerous European national and other officials, including the alliance and the EU, are seeking to engage the Trump administration in safeguarding the future autonomy of a European country (Ukraine) against the aggressive geopolitical designs of an outside force (Russia), immediately after the US has intervened in sovereign Venezuela with force, taking its president into custody, while also continuing to publicly undermining the autonomy of a different EU member (the Kingdom of Denmark).

To add to the complexity – Denmark and the US are both members of the transatlantic alliance the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. They are, in the view of Danish officials, extremely close allies. Previously, they were considered so.

The dilemma is, were Trump to act upon his desire to acquire Greenland, would it represent not just an existential threat to the alliance but also a profound problem for the EU?

Europe Risks Being Overlooked

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

On Sunday that the landmass is "vitally important right now, Greenland is patrolled by foreign naval assets all over the place. It is imperative to have Greenland from the perspective of strategic interests and Denmark is unable to provide security".

Denmark strongly denies that assertion. It has lately pledged to invest $4bn in Greenland defence including boats, drones and aircraft.

As per a treaty, the US has a defense installation already on Greenland – established at the beginning of the East-West standoff. It has reduced the total of troops there from approximately 10,000 during the height of the confrontation to about 200 and the US has long been accused of neglecting Arctic Security, recently.

Denmark has suggested it is amenable to dialogue about a bigger US role on the island and additional measures but faced with the US President's assertion of going it alone, Frederiksen said on Monday that the US leader's goal to control Greenland should be treated with gravity.

After the US administration's actions in Venezuela this weekend, her colleges throughout Europe are heeding that warning.

"This whole situation has just highlighted – once again – Europe's core weakness {