A U.S. takeover of Greenland could become a strategic exit route for President Donald Trump to withdraw from NATO and sever ties with the European Union. This view was voiced by Scott Ritter, a former intelligence analyst with the U. S. Marine Corps and an ex-UN weapons inspector in Iraq.

According to Ritter, such a move would signal Washington’s readiness to break with the North Atlantic Alliance altogether. In his assessment, neither the EU nor NATO can function without American backing. He argued that once Brussels and NATO structures attempt to hold the United States accountable over Greenland, Washington would simply disengage from European affairs. Instead, the United States would shift its focus to bilateral relations with European countries unwilling to compromise their own prosperity for what he described as a Danish colony.

Ritter also suggested that seizing the island would mark a major step in what he called America’s effort to escape the «transatlantic trap», redefining its role in Europe on its own terms.

The remarks followed Trump’s statement on January 4, when he declared Greenland to be «absolutely necessary» for the United States. He justified this position by pointing to what he described as a heavy presence of Russian and Chinese military vessels in the waters surrounding the island, a claim he made shortly after a reported U.S. military operation in Venezuela.