German soldiers leave Greenland after team completes mission

The team arrived on Friday as part of a Danish-led reconnaissance mission aimed at strengthening security around Greenland. Several European NATO countries also sent small teams of personnel.

The spokesman for the command and control centre said that the team had completed its mission. "The results of the reconnaissance will be analysed in the coming days."

The deployment follows US President Donald Trump's aggressive push to acquire Greenland, a resource-rich, semi-autonomous Arctic island that is formally part of Denmark, a NATO member.

On Saturday, Trump escalated tensions by announcing additional tariffs on eight European countries, including Germany, the United Kingdom and Denmark, starting in February.

He said the staggered measures would remain in place until an agreement was reached on the "complete and total purchase of Greenland," and criticized the presence of European troops on the island.

Trump was angered by the European NATO members that have sent soldiers to the Arctic island. The US president strongly criticized the deployment.

"Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, The United Kingdom, The Netherlands, and Finland have journeyed to Greenland, for purposes unknown," he wrote in a social media post, describing this as "a very dangerous situation for the Safety, Security, and Survival of our Planet."

Trump argues that the US needs Greenland in order to guarantee security in the Arctic, justifying his plans with security concerns about threats from China and Russia in the region.

NATO allies also say that Greenland does not need to be taken over by the US to protect the Arctic.