French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday said that Greenland is “not to be sold” nor “to be taken” in a key visit to the strategic arctic territory coveted by US President Donald Trump, saying he was conveying a message of French and European solidarity.
Macron criticized Trump’s intention to take control of the territory.
“In a few words: Everybody in France, the European Union thinks that Greenland is not to be sold, not to be taken,” he told a news conference, applauded by the local crowd.
Photo: Reuters
“The situation in Greenland is clearly a wakeup call for all Europeans. Let me tell you very directly that you’re not alone,” Macron added.
Sunday’s symbolic stop to Greenland comes as the French leader is on his way to a summit of the G7 leaders in Canada that would also be attended by Trump.
Macron was greeted in Nuuk, the territory’s capital, by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
Asked whether France would be ready to militarily support Greenland if Trump was to decide to invade, Macron declined to discuss the hypothesis.
“I won’t start elaborating on ‘what if’ scenarios publicly,” he said. “Because I don’t believe that in the end, the US, which is an ally and a friend, would ever do something aggressive against another ally.”
On Sunday, Macron, Frederiksen and Nielsen held a meeting on a Danish helicopter carrier, showing France’s concerns over security issues in the region.
All three then headed to a fast-melting glacier where they watched the consequences of climate change. The visit also allowed them to discuss economic development, low-carbon energy transition and critical minerals.
“It’s a strange time for us in Greenland,” Nielsen said. “We live on some democratic principles built up for many years: respect for international law, respect for borders, respect for law of the sea, and we are glad you could stand with us to state that those principles are very, very important.”
Last week, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth appeared to acknowledge that the Pentagon has developed plans to take over Greenland and Panama by force if necessary, but refused to answer repeated questions during a hotly combative congressional hearing on Thursday about his use of Signal chats to discuss military operations.
Hegseth’s comments were the latest controversial remarks made by a member of the Trump administration about the Arctic island.
A day after Macron’s visit, Norway’s King Harald and Queen Sonja arrived on the strategically located arctic archipelago of Svalbard.
Svalbard — which officially became part of Norway in 1925 — lies roughly midway between the North Pole and the European mainland. King Harald’s visit is to mark a century of Norwegian sovereignty.
It is governed under a 1920 treaty that also allows citizens of signatory states to settle there without a visa.
The Svalbard treaty restricts military use of the archipelago, but the islands are not a demilitarized zone. Russia has in the past accused Norway of militarizing Svalbard, which Oslo denies.
Additional reporting by Reuters
Norway is NATO’s monitor for the vast 2 million square kilometers areas of the North Atlantic, which includes the waters between Svalbard and the European mainland, used by the Russian northern fleet’s nuclear submarines.
Svalbard has two Russian settlements, Barentsburg and Pyramiden, with 297 residents out of a total population of 2,863, according to Statistics Norway.
China, which calls itself a “near-arctic” state, wants to create a “Polar Silk Road,” an alternative shipping route to reduce its dependence on the Strait of Malacca.
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