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Just this morning, a informal Alliance of the Determined, largely consisting of European officials, convened in the French capital with delegates of President Trump, attempting to make more advances on a durable peace deal for the embattled nation.

With Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky declaring that a roadmap to end the conflict with Russia is "nearly finalized", nobody in that meeting wished to jeopardise maintaining the US engaged.

Yet, there was an enormous unspoken issue in that impressive and sparkling Paris meeting, and the fundamental mood was profoundly uneasy.

Consider the events of the last few days: the Trump administration's divisive incursion in the South American nation and the American leader's assertion following this, that "we need Greenland from the viewpoint of national security".

The vast Arctic territory is the world's biggest island – it's sixfold the size of Germany. It lies in the Arctic region but is an semi-independent region of Denmark's.

At the summit, Mette Frederiksen, the Danish Prime Minister, was sitting opposite two powerful figures representing Trump: special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's adviser Jared Kushner.

She was facing pressure from her EU allies to avoid provoking the US over the Greenland issue, in case that undermines US backing for the Ukrainian cause.

Europe's leaders would have greatly desired to keep Greenland and the debate on the war apart. But with the tensions rising from Washington and Copenhagen, leaders of big EU countries at the Paris meeting issued a statement asserting: "The island is part of the alliance. Stability in the North must therefore be secured jointly, in cooperation with NATO allies such as the America".

"It is for Denmark and the Greenlandic authorities, and them alone, to rule on affairs related to Denmark and Greenland," the declaration continued.

The statement was welcomed by Greenland's prime minister, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but observers argue it was delayed to be formulated and, because of the small group of endorsers to the statement, it failed to demonstrate a Europe aligned in intent.

"Were there a common statement from all 27 member states, plus NATO ally the UK, in support of Danish control, that would have conveyed a strong signal to America," stated a European foreign policy specialist.

Reflect on the irony at work at the France meeting. Multiple European national and other leaders, such as the alliance and the EU, are trying to engage the White House in safeguarding the future sovereignty of a continental state (Ukraine) against the hostile geopolitical designs of an foreign power (Russia), on the heels of the US has intervened in independent Venezuela by armed intervention, arresting its head of state, while also continuing to actively challenging the sovereignty of a different European nation (the Kingdom of Denmark).

To add to the complexity – Denmark and the US are both participants of the defensive pact the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. They are, as stated by Copenhagen, profoundly key friends. At least, they were.

The question is, were Trump to fulfill his goal to assert control over the island, would it constitute not just an existential threat to the alliance but also a significant problem for the EU?

Europe Risks Being Trampled Underfoot

This is not an isolated incident President Trump has expressed his determination to control Greenland. He's floated the idea of buying it in the past. He's also refused to rule out taking it by force.

On Sunday that the landmass is "crucially located right now, Greenland is covered with foreign vessels all over the place. It is imperative to have Greenland from the vantage point of strategic interests and Copenhagen is not going to be able to do it".

Copenhagen strongly denies that claim. It has lately vowed to allocate $4bn in the island's defense including boats, drones and aircraft.

Under a mutual pact, the US operates a military base presently on Greenland – set up at the onset of the Cold War. It has scaled down the figure of staff there from approximately 10,000 during the height of Cold War operations to around 200 and the US has frequently been criticized of neglecting Arctic Security, up to this point.

Denmark has signaled it is willing to talk about a bigger US footprint on the territory and further cooperation but confronted by the US President's threat of unilateral action, the Danish PM said on Monday that the US leader's goal to take Greenland should be taken seriously.

In the wake of the American intervention in Venezuela this weekend, her counterparts in Europe are heeding that warning.

"This whole situation has just highlighted – once again – the EU's fundamental weakness {