The upcoming move is expected to affect roughly 200 military personnel and will notably curtail US involvement in the alliance’s 30 Centers of Excellence, which provide specialized warfare training to NATO forces, the report stated on Tuesday.
According to the report, instead of a one-time withdrawal, the Pentagon will not fill positions once tours of duty expire. US involvement in the centers' activities, however, will continue on a reduced scale.
A Danish colony until 1953, Greenland has remained part of Denmark after gaining autonomy in 2009, with the ability to self-govern and set its own domestic policy. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly asserted that the Arctic island should become part of the United States. Danish and Greenlandic officials have warned Washington against seizing the island, noting that they expect their territorial integrity to be respected.