Britain expects NATO to discuss Arctic security plans next week

1:50 pm on 6 February 2026

By Alistair Smout, Reuters

A video grab from footage broadcast by the UK Parliament's Parliamentary Recording Unit (PRU) Britain's Defence Secretary John Healey making a statement to MPs on the in the House of Commons in London on July 15, 2025, following the lifting on reporting restrictions relating to the relocation of Afghans who worked with the UK government, as a result of huge data breach in 2022. Thousands of Afghans who worked with the UK government were brought to Britain in a secret relocation programme after a huge 2022 data breach, a minister revealed Tuesday. Defence Minister John Healey told parliament about the scheme after the UK High Court lifted an order banning media from reporting that the names and details of almost 19,000 Afghans asking for asylum had been accidentally leaked just months after the Taliban seized Kabul. (Photo by PRU / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / PRU " - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

British Defence Minister John Healey hints the 'Arctic Sentry' mission would secure Greenland. Photo: Supplied / AFP

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North Atlantic Treaty Organisation defence ministers will likely discuss measures to bolster the security of Greenland in a meeting next week, British Defence Minister John Healey said, after US President Donald Trump nearly upended the alliance over his desire to acquire it.

Trump has repeatedly asserted that he wants Greenland, saying European allies have failed to properly secure it. His comments sparked a dispute with NATO member Denmark over its overseas territory and strained the defence alliance.

Those tensions eased, after NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte said he had discussed how NATO allies could work collectively to ensure Arctic security with Trump, but details of those plans remained scarce.

Arctic Sentry mission

Healey said a proposed NATO 'Arctic Sentry' mission was a way "we, as NATO nations, can demonstrate to President Trump that we're already stepping up on Greenland's security, that we accept and agree that he's got a point of concern".

"Trump's put his finger on a challenge," Healey told Reuters, adding nations would "step up further". "What we're demonstrating to him is that NATO's already on it. I would expect to see more discussions at the NATO defence ministers meeting that I'll be at in Brussels next week."

NATO has started military planning for Arctic Sentry, which it describes as an enhanced vigilance mission in the area, but it was unclear if it would be discussed at the 12 February meeting.

Britain has boosted its defence spending in light of the war in Ukraine and Trump's demand that NATO allies spend more.

Speaking on the sidelines of an event where 10 smaller companies pitched their technology to investors, Healey said he wanted "sources of private capital that haven't looked at defence before", so record rising public defence investment could be matched by sources of private investment.

- Reuters