Trump for the US to annex Greenland - a semi-autonomous region of Denmark in the Arctic. The 11-member delegation met MPs as well as Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her Greenlandic counterpart Jens-Frederik Nielsen. Group leader Senator Chris Coons said their trip was to listen to the locals and take their views back to Washington "to lower the temperature". Trump has said Greenland is vital for US security - and the US would get it "the easy way" or "the hard way" - a reference to ideas to buy the island or take it by force.

Both Denmark and Greenland say they are opposed to a US takeover. Greenland is sparsely-populated but resource-rich and its location between North America and the Arctic makes it well placed for early warning systems in the event of missile attacks and for monitoring vessels in the region. The US already has more than 100 military personnel permanently stationed at its Pituffik base - a facility that has been operated by the US since World War Two. Under existing agreements with Denmark, the US has the power to bring as many troops as it wants to Greenland. But Trump has said the US needs to "own" it to defend it properly against possible Russian or Chinese attacks.

Denmark has warned that military action would spell the end of Nato - the trans-Atlantic defence alliance where the US is the most influential partner. Nato works on the principle that allies have to aid each other in case of attack from outside - it has never faced an option where one member would use force against another. European allies have rallied to Denmark's support. They have also said the Arctic region is equally important to them and that its security should be a joint Nato responsibility - with the US involved. To this end, several countries including France, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands and the UK have sent a limited number of troops to Greenland in a so-called reconnaissance mission. French President Emmanuel Macron said "land, air, and sea assets" would soon be sent. (BBC)