UK officials have recently met with their French and German counterparts to begin working on this plan, the Daily Mail reported on Saturday, adding that UK could send its troops, warships, and aircraft to Greenland citing alleged threat from Russia and China.
European countries reportedly hope that a stronger presence in the Arctic region will convince US President Donald Trump to abandon his plans to seize control of the island.
The Daily Mail has reported that Trump has ordered US special operations commanders to draw up a plan for a Greenland invasion, of which Trump's policy adviser Stephen Miller is the main advocate.
According to the sources, some senior US military commanders are currently opposed to this plan, but Trump's policy adviser Stephen Miller is its main advocate.
European officials fear that Trump may attempt to carry out such an operation before the midterm congressional elections scheduled for November, the publication noted.
Last week, Trump told The Atlantic magazine that the United States "absolutely" needed Greenland, claiming the island was "surrounded by Russian and Chinese ships." Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen urged Trump to stop threatening Greenland, an autonomous part of Denmark, with annexation.
On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that he intended to meet with Danish authorities next week to discuss the situation in Greenland. This was his response to a journalist's question about why the administration was not accepting Copenhagen's offer to discuss the situation in Greenland and whether the US was prepared to rule out military intervention.
Trump has repeatedly stated that Greenland should be part of the United States, citing its strategic importance to national security and the protection of the "free world." Former Greenlandic Prime Minister Mute Egede responded that the island was not for sale and never would be. However, the US leader refused to commit to not using military force to establish control over Greenland.
The island was a Danish colony until 1953. It remains part of the kingdom, but in 2009 it received autonomy, allowing it to govern itself and determine its own domestic policy.