A small French military contingent has arrived in Greenland`s capital Nuuk, officials say, as several European states deploy small numbers in a so-called reconnaissance mission, writes BBC.

The limited deployment, which also involves Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands and the UK, comes as US President Donald Trump continues to press his claim to the Arctic island, which is a semi-autonomous part of Denmark.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the initial contingent would be reinforced soon with "land, air, and sea assets".

Senior diplomat Olivier Poivre d`Arvor saw the mission as sending a strong political signal: "This is a first exercise... we`ll show the US that NATO is present". Poivre d`Arvor said the initial French deployment involved 15 people, hours after Denmark and Greenland`s foreign ministers travelled to Washington for a meeting with US Vice-President JD Vance on Wednesday.

Following the meeting, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said while the talks were constructive, there remained a "fundamental disagreement" between the two sides and later criticised Trump`s bid to buy Greenland.

Trump, meanwhile, doubled down on his bid to bring Greenland under US control, telling reporters in the Oval Office, "we need Greenland for national security". Although he did not rule out the use of force, he said late on Wednesday that he thought something could be worked out with Denmark. "The problem is there`s not a thing that Denmark can do about it if Russia or China wants to occupy Greenland, but there`s everything we can do. You found that out last week with Venezuela".