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This very day, a self-styled Coalition of the Willing, predominantly consisting of European heads of state, convened in Paris with envoys of President Trump, attempting to achieve additional advances on a lasting settlement for the embattled nation.

With President Volodymyr Zelensky asserting that a roadmap to halt the conflict with Russia is "nearly finalized", nobody in that gathering wanted to risk maintaining the Americans involved.

Yet, there was an colossal glaring omission in that impressive and sparkling summit, and the prevailing mood was extremely uneasy.

Consider the actions of the past week: the US administration's divisive involvement in the South American nation and the US president's insistence following this, that "our national security requires Greenland from the viewpoint of strategic interests".

This massive island is the world's biggest island – it's sixfold the area of Germany. It is situated in the Arctic region but is an self-governing territory of Copenhagen.

At the conference, Mette Frederiksen, the Danish Prime Minister, was sitting across from two key personalities representing Trump: diplomat Steve Witkoff and Trump's adviser Jared Kushner.

She was subject to urging from European counterparts to refrain from antagonising the US over the Arctic question, in case that affects US assistance for Ukraine.

Europe's leaders would have much rather to keep Greenland and the discussions on the war distinct. But with the political temperature mounting from Washington and Denmark, representatives of big states at the gathering issued a statement saying: "The island is part of the alliance. Security in the Arctic must therefore be attained collectively, in cooperation with alliance members such as the America".

"The decision is for Copenhagen and the Greenlandic authorities, and no one else, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland," the communiqué continued.

The communique was welcomed by the island's leader, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but analysts say it was delayed to be drafted and, owing to the small number of signatories to the statement, it did not manage to demonstrate a Europe in agreement in objective.

"If there had been a unified position from all 27 European Union countries, plus NATO ally the UK, in backing of Danish authority, that would have delivered a strong message to America," stated a EU defense analyst.

Ponder the contradiction at work at the European gathering. Numerous European government and other officials, including the alliance and the EU, are trying to secure the cooperation of the Trump administration in safeguarding the future autonomy of a continental state (the Eastern European nation) against the hostile territorial ambitions of an outside force (Russia), on the heels of the US has intervened in independent Venezuela by armed intervention, arresting its head of state, while also persistently publicly threatening the territorial integrity of a different European nation (Denmark).

To compound the situation – Copenhagen and the US are both members of the defensive pact the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. They are, according to Copenhagen, exceptionally close allies. Or were.

The issue is, were Trump to make good on his ambition to bring Greenland under US control, would it mark not just an fundamental challenge to NATO but also a significant problem for the European Union?

Europe Faces the Danger of Being Overlooked

This is not the first time Trump has spoken of his determination to acquire Greenland. He's proposed buying it in the past. He's also refused to rule out forcible annexation.

On Sunday that the landmass is "so strategic right now, Greenland is patrolled by foreign ships all over the place. We need Greenland from the vantage point of defense and Copenhagen is not going to be able to provide security".

Copenhagen contests that assertion. It has lately pledged to spend $4bn in Arctic security including boats, drones and aircraft.

Under a bilateral agreement, the US has a defense installation presently on the island – founded at the beginning of the East-West standoff. It has reduced the figure of staff there from around 10,000 during peak Cold War operations to approximately 200 and the US has often been faulted of neglecting polar defense, recently.

Denmark has indicated it is willing to talk about a larger US footprint on the island and further cooperation but in light of the US President's assertion of independent moves, Frederiksen said on Monday that Trump's ambition to take Greenland should be taken seriously.

After the American intervention in Venezuela this weekend, her colleges across Europe are taking it seriously.

"The current crisis has just underlined – yet again – the EU's fundamental vulnerability {