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Earlier today, a informal Coalition of the Committed, predominantly made up of European leaders, convened in Paris with delegates of President Trump, hoping to make more headway on a sustainable peace deal for the embattled nation.

With Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky insisting that a roadmap to end the hostilities with Russia is "nearly finalized", no-one in that room desired to risk maintaining the Americans onboard.

Yet, there was an colossal unspoken issue in that grand and luxurious summit, and the fundamental tension was extremely tense.

Recall the actions of the recent days: the Trump administration's controversial intervention in the South American nation and the American leader's assertion following this, that "it is essential to have Greenland from the standpoint of national security".

The vast Arctic territory is the world's biggest island – it's 600% the size of Germany. It lies in the Arctic but is an self-governing territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.

At the summit, Mette Frederiksen, Copenhagen's leader, was seated opposite two key personalities acting for Trump: special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's relative Jared Kushner.

She was facing pressure from her EU counterparts not to antagonising the US over the Arctic question, for fear that that affects US backing for Ukraine.

The continent's officials would have much rather to keep Greenland and the debate on the war distinct. But with the political temperature mounting from the White House and Copenhagen, representatives of leading European nations at the talks put out a declaration saying: "The island is part of the alliance. Defense in the Arctic must therefore be achieved jointly, in partnership with NATO allies such as the America".

"The decision is for Denmark and Greenland, and no one else, to determine on matters concerning the kingdom and Greenland," the statement added.

The statement was greeted by the island's leader, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but analysts contend it was slow to be drafted and, owing to the small set of endorsers to the declaration, it did not manage to project a European Union aligned in intent.

"Had there been a common position from all 27 European Union countries, along with NATO ally the UK, in backing of Copenhagen's sovereignty, that would have sent a strong signal to America," stated a European defense expert.

Ponder the paradox at hand at the Paris summit. Multiple EU national and other officials, including the alliance and the EU, are attempting to secure the cooperation of the White House in protecting the future independence of a EU nation (the Eastern European nation) against the expansionist land claims of an foreign power (Russia), just after the US has swooped into sovereign Venezuela with force, taking its president into custody, while also still actively threatening the sovereignty of a different EU member (Denmark).

To compound the situation – Denmark and the US are both signatories of the transatlantic alliance the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. They are, in the view of Danish officials, extremely close allies. Or were.

The question is, if Trump were to make good on his desire to assert control over the island, would it represent not just an fundamental challenge to NATO but also a profound problem for the European Union?

Europe Faces the Danger of Being Overlooked

This is not an isolated incident President Trump has voiced his determination to control the Arctic island. He's suggested acquiring it in the past. He's also not excluded forcible annexation.

He insisted that the island is "so strategic right now, Greenland is patrolled by foreign naval assets all over the place. We need Greenland from the perspective of strategic interests and Copenhagen is incapable to provide security".

Copenhagen refutes that claim. It recently pledged to invest $4bn in the island's defense encompassing boats, drones and aircraft.

As per a bilateral agreement, the US operates a strategic outpost currently on Greenland – established at the start of the Cold War. It has scaled down the number of staff there from about 10,000 during the height of the confrontation to approximately 200 and the US has frequently been criticized of neglecting polar defense, recently.

Copenhagen has suggested it is open to discussion about a larger US footprint on the island and further cooperation but faced with the US President's assertion of going it alone, Frederiksen said on Monday that Trump's ambition to take Greenland should be taken seriously.

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

"These developments has just highlighted – for the umpteenth time – the EU's basic vulnerability {