1st LD Writethru: NATO plans military exercises in the Arctic in coming months: official

BRUSSELS, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- A senior official from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) said on Thursday that NATO has already pre-planned military exercises in the Arctic for the months to come.

Stressing that the Arctic is a region of strategic relevance for NATO, Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, NATO's chair of the military committee, told reporters at a joint press briefing that NATO has military exercises and training activities already pre-planned in the coming months.

Alexus Grynkewich, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, said at the briefing that the alliance was ready to plan a mission to protect the Arctic if asked.

"We have not received political guidance to move out," Grynkewich said when answering a reporter's question about the details of the possible move in the Arctic area.

"We're doing some thinking about how we would organise for it -- no planning has started yet, but we're ready," he explained.

Dragone also said he knew very little about the framework deal on Greenland that U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday after a talk with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, adding that "we are at the very early stage. We are still waiting for the direction."

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen stated on Thursday that Mark Rutte does not have a mandate to negotiate on behalf of Denmark or Greenland.

She reaffirmed Denmark's red lines, saying that Greenland's future should be decided by Greenland and that sovereignty is not negotiable. Enditem