"NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte was asked if Donald Trump's claims about needed Greenland for 'national security' reasons were really based in fact, as he spoke with lawmakers at the European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday. "I'm sure you have noticed this because it's been all over the place, that the people of Greenland, it's 56,000 people, are scared stiff, they're stressed and they're more than just worried," said one."There is not a single Chinese or Russian ships around Greenland, let that be stated as a fact. And there are of course also now conversations going on to try and make this go in a direction where we as allies, and I and my country and all the people in Greenland strongly believe that we are allies and that you are there to protect us." Rutte reacted: "Let's not be naive. Even if there are not that many ships sailing at the moment, we know that there's sea lanes opening up in the high north and the Arctic, and this is not only true for Greenland, this is true for the whole Arctic area." Earlier, Danish PM Mette Fredriksen stated: "It has not been easy to stand up against completely unacceptable pressure from our closest allies through a generation, but much simultaneously suggests that the hardest part now lies ahead of us." The past days and weeks have seen rows with the US over Greenland, with Donald Trump pledging to take control of it 'one way or another'. In recent days, the UK has suggested deploying NATO troops to the region, which some media reports suggested was about 'easing Trump's security fears' and others claimed was about 'deterring' the US president. Trump has repeatedly said he wanted control of the Danish territory since his re-election in 2024, with it triggering debate over Greenland's own difficult relationship with its former Danish coloniser. "