The NATO headquarters building in Brussels, the capital of Belgium. Photo: Xinhua

　　The UK is in talks with European allies about deploying a military force to Greenland that would guard the Arctic region, media reported on Saturday, after US President Donald Trump claimed that the US will take Greenland the "hard way" if it can"t do it the "easy way."

　　According to a report by The Telegraph on Saturday, military chiefs are drawing up plans for a possible NATO mission on the island, over which the US president has made repeated claims.

　　British officials have met with counterparts from countries including Germany and France in recent days to start the preparations, per the report. The plans, still at an early stage, could involve British soldiers, warships and planes being deployed to protect Greenland.

　　It could be a full-blown troop deployment or a combination of time-limited exercises, intelligence sharing, capability development and rerouted defence spending, per the report.

　　European nations are hoping that significantly stepping up their presence in the Arctic would persuade US President to abandon his ambition to annex the strategic island, per The Telegraph.

　　The move came after US president on Friday continued his push toward Greenland. Trump told reporters at the White House that if he is unable to make a deal to acquire the territory "the easy way," then he will have to "do it the hard way," CNN reported on Saturday.

　　The Telegraph also reported that the European Union is drawing up plans for sanctions on US companies should Trump reject the offer of a NATO deployment. Technology giants such as Meta, Google, Microsoft and X could be restricted from operating on the Continent, as could American banks and financial firms.