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Earlier today, a self-styled Coalition of the Committed, predominantly consisting of European heads of state, met in Paris with representatives of the Trump administration, hoping to make more headway on a lasting peace deal for the embattled nation.

With President Volodymyr Zelensky insisting that a framework to end the war with Russia is "nearly finalized", nobody in that room desired to jeopardise retaining the Americans onboard.

Yet, there was an immense elephant in the room in that grand and sparkling Paris meeting, and the fundamental atmosphere was profoundly uneasy.

Consider the developments of the last few days: the Trump administration's contentious involvement in the South American nation and the US president's assertion following this, that "we need Greenland from the standpoint of strategic interests".

Greenland is the world's biggest island – it's sixfold the dimensions of Germany. It is located in the Arctic but is an self-governing region of the Kingdom of Denmark.

At the conference, Mette Frederiksen, Copenhagen's leader, was positioned across from two influential personalities representing Trump: emissary Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

She was under pressure from European allies to avoid antagonising the US over the Greenland issue, lest that undermines US assistance for the Ukrainian cause.

The continent's officials would have much rather to separate Greenland and the discussions on the war apart. But with the tensions mounting from Washington and Copenhagen, leaders of leading states at the talks put out a declaration stating: "Greenland is part of the alliance. Defense in the Arctic must therefore be secured collectively, in conjunction with NATO allies including the US".

"The decision is for Denmark and the Greenlandic authorities, and no one else, to decide on affairs regarding Denmark and Greenland," the declaration added.

The statement was welcomed by the island's leader, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but critics argue it was delayed to be formulated and, due to the limited number of signatories to the declaration, it failed to demonstrate a Europe in agreement in objective.

"Were there a common statement from all 27 member states, along with NATO ally the UK, in support of Danish authority, that would have delivered a strong message to Washington," noted a European defense expert.

Consider the irony at hand at the European gathering. Multiple EU government and other leaders, such as NATO and the EU, are trying to involve the Trump administration in safeguarding the future independence of a EU nation (the Eastern European nation) against the expansionist territorial ambitions of an foreign power (Moscow), immediately after the US has entered independent Venezuela by armed intervention, detaining its leader, while also persistently actively threatening the autonomy of a further continental ally (the Kingdom of Denmark).

To make matters even more stark – Copenhagen and the US are both signatories of the military bloc NATO. They are, as stated by Copenhagen, profoundly strong partners. At least, they were.

The issue is, should Trump make good on his ambition to acquire Greenland, would it constitute not just an existential threat to the alliance but also a profound problem for the EU?

Europe Risks Being Overlooked

This is not the first time President Trump has spoken of his resolve to control the Arctic island. He's floated the idea of purchasing it in the past. He's also left open the possibility of forcible annexation.

Recently that the landmass is "so strategic right now, it is patrolled by Russian and Chinese naval assets all over the place. It is imperative to have Greenland from the vantage point of defense and Denmark is unable to handle it".

Denmark strongly denies that claim. It not long ago vowed to allocate $4bn in the island's defense encompassing boats, drones and aircraft.

Under a bilateral agreement, the US maintains a strategic outpost currently on Greenland – set up at the beginning of the East-West standoff. It has scaled down the number of staff there from approximately 10,000 during the height of that era to approximately 200 and the US has often been faulted of overlooking Arctic Security, recently.

Copenhagen has signaled it is amenable to dialogue about a bigger US footprint on the island and more but in light of the US President's warning of unilateral action, the Danish PM said on Monday that the US leader's goal to control Greenland should be taken seriously.

Following the US administration's actions in Venezuela this weekend, her fellow leaders throughout Europe are doing just that.

"These developments has just underlined – yet again – Europe's core weakness {