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Just this morning, a self-styled Group of the Willing, mostly consisting of European heads of state, convened in Paris with delegates of President Trump, hoping to make more headway on a sustainable settlement for the embattled nation.

With Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky declaring that a framework to conclude the war with Russia is "90% of the way there", not a single person in that room wished to jeopardise maintaining the Americans engaged.

Yet, there was an colossal glaring omission in that impressive and sparkling gathering, and the underlying mood was exceptionally tense.

Consider the developments of the recent days: the White House's contentious incursion in Venezuela and the American leader's assertion shortly thereafter, that "we need Greenland from the perspective of national security".

Greenland is the world's biggest island – it's six times the area of Germany. It is situated in the far north but is an semi-independent region of Copenhagen.

At the conference, Mette Frederiksen, the Danish Prime Minister, was positioned across from two influential personalities acting for Trump: special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's relative Jared Kushner.

She was subject to urging from European allies to refrain from provoking the US over the Arctic question, for fear that that undermines US assistance for the Ukrainian cause.

EU heads of state would have greatly desired to compartmentalize the Arctic dispute and the debate on Ukraine separate. But with the tensions escalating from the White House and Denmark, representatives of major EU countries at the gathering issued a communiqué saying: "The island is part of NATO. Stability in the Arctic must therefore be secured together, in partnership with alliance members such as the America".

"Sovereignty is for Copenhagen and the Greenlandic authorities, and no one else, to decide on issues related to Denmark and Greenland," the statement added.

The communique was welcomed by the island's leader, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but critics say it was slow to be drafted and, due to the limited group of signatories to the declaration, it did not manage to show a European Union in agreement in purpose.

"Were there a joint statement from all 27 EU partners, plus NATO ally the UK, in defense of Danish authority, that would have delivered a strong signal to Washington," commented a EU defense expert.

Ponder the paradox at play at the France meeting. Several European national and other officials, including the alliance and the European Union, are trying to engage the White House in safeguarding the future independence of a continental state (the Eastern European nation) against the aggressive land claims of an external actor (Russia), on the heels of the US has swooped into independent Venezuela with force, detaining its leader, while also persistently actively challenging the territorial integrity of a further European nation (the Kingdom of Denmark).

To add to the complexity – Copenhagen and the US are both members of the military bloc the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. They are, according to Copenhagen, profoundly strong partners. Previously, they were considered so.

The issue is, should Trump fulfill his desire to bring Greenland under US control, would it mark not just an existential threat to NATO but also a significant crisis for the EU?

Europe Faces the Danger of Being Marginalized

This is far from the first instance President Trump has voiced his resolve to acquire Greenland. He's proposed acquiring it in the past. He's also refused to rule out a military seizure.

He insisted that the landmass is "vitally important right now, it is frequented by foreign vessels all over the place. Our security demands Greenland from the standpoint of defense and Copenhagen is incapable to do it".

Copenhagen contests that assertion. It not long ago committed to allocate $4bn in Greenland defence for boats, drones and aircraft.

Pursuant to a mutual pact, the US operates a defense installation currently on the island – set up at the start of the East-West standoff. It has scaled down the number of personnel there from around 10,000 during peak Cold War operations to about 200 and the US has frequently been criticized of taking its eye off Arctic Security, up to this point.

Denmark has suggested it is amenable to dialogue about a bigger US footprint on the island and further cooperation but faced with the US President's threat of independent moves, the Danish PM said on Monday that Trump's ambition to control Greenland should be taken seriously.

Following the Washington's moves in Venezuela this weekend, her counterparts across Europe are doing just that.

"This whole situation has just emphasized – for the umpteenth time – Europe's fundamental shortcoming {