Greenland rift makes NATO vulnerable to Russia, says senior German general

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. BERLIN—The rift between the U.S. and Europe over Greenland is making the trans-Atlantic alliance vulnerable to a Russian attack on NATO territory, one of Germany’s highest ranking officers warned.

The dispute risks eroding the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s power to deter enemies by undermining its cohesion, Lt. Gen. Alexander Sollfrank, head of the German armed forces Joint Force Command, said in an interview.

“The strength [of NATO] is ‘one for all, all for one.’ If that breaks, the core idea is gone," said Sollfrank. Cohesion is often referred to as the strategic center of gravity for NATO—its ability to act as one despite being made up of 32 countries. That principle was last demonstrated after 9/11, he said, when Washington invoked Article 5, the alliance’s common defense clause, to rally NATO members to its campaign in Afghanistan.

It was the first and last time Art. 5 was invoked. Sollfrank, whose Joint Force Command is responsible for planning and conducting all German military operations, would play a key role in any conflict between NATO and Russia.

Germany’s top military brass normally refrains from commenting on international politics, but senior officers, including Sollfrank, have been blunt about the threat posed by Moscow. Sollfrank made headlines last year by warning that Russia could attack NATO at any time. European leaders have condemned President Trump’s insistence that the U.S.

should acquire Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of the kingdom of Denmark. Trump has threatened eight European nations with 10% tariffs starting Feb. 1 after the countries dispatched a small number of troops to the island over the weekend.