 "'I don’t think that’s what allies do': In Greenland, Macron hits out at Trump’s takeover threat")
French President Emmanuel Macron has criticised Donald Trump’s threats to take over Greenland during a visit to the capital of the Danish autonomous territory. Macron is the first foreign leader to visit Greenland since Trump publicly expressed interest in annexing it.
“I don’t think that’s what allies do,” Macron said, highlighting the shift in the United States’ approach to its allies since Trump left office.
He reaffirmed “France’s and the EU’s solidarity” with Greenland on his way to a summit of G7 leaders in Canada.
Macron said, “It’s important that Denmark and the Europeans commit themselves to this territory, where the strategic stakes are very high and whose territorial integrity must be respected.”
Former US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said the US needs Greenland for national security, given its strategic location between the Atlantic and the Arctic. He has not ruled out the use of force to acquire it.
However, polls show that most of Greenland’s 57,000 residents want independence from Denmark—but not to become part of the US. Denmark has made it clear that “Greenland is not for sale” and that only Greenlanders can determine their future.
Macron’s six-hour visit was described by his office as “a signal in itself.” It came at the request of both Denmark and Greenland. He began the trip with talks aboard a Danish naval frigate with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
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View AllHe was also scheduled to visit a glacier to witness the effects of climate change and to discuss how Greenland could be included in EU development efforts while respecting its sovereignty. A planned visit to a hydroelectric plant was cancelled.
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