Germany and France have warned Trump about annexing Greenland

Germany and France have warned Donald Trump against threatening Greenland after the US president-elect refused to use military force to seize the autonomous Danish territory.

As German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, “the principle of the inviolability of borders applies to all countries… no matter how small or very strong.”

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said “there is no doubt that the European Union will allow other nations of the world to attack its sovereign borders”.

On Tuesday, Trump reiterated his desire to acquire Greenland, saying the Arctic island is “critical” to national and economic security.

He has repeatedly expressed interest in buying Greenland, having floated the idea in 2019 during his first term as president.

Denmark, a longtime US ally, has made it clear that Greenland is not for sale and belongs to its people.

The Prime Minister of Greenland, Mute Egede, is pushing for independence from Denmark, but he too has made it clear that the territory is not for sale. He was visiting Copenhagen on Wednesday.

Chancellor Scholz said there is “some sort of understanding” about the statements coming from the incoming US administration.

“The principle of inviolable borders applies to all countries, whether they are in the east or the west.”

Denmark is a member of the US-led NATO alliance, along with Germany and France.

As Scholz emphasized, “NATO is our most important defense tool and a central part of the transatlantic relationship.”

On Wednesday, Jean-Noël Barrot told France Inter radio: “If you ask me whether I think the US will invade Greenland, my answer is no.

“Have we entered an era that sees the survival of the fittest returning? Then the answer is yes.

“Therefore, we must stop fearing and being overwhelmed by worry, clearly not. We must wake up, build strength,” added the French foreign minister.

Germany and France are the two main members of the EU, often described as its main boosters.

However, it is difficult to imagine how the EU can prevent any possible attack. It has no defense capability and most of its 27 member states are part of NATO.

Trump made the remarks at a free-wheeling news conference in his Florida town of Mar-a-Lago, less than two weeks before he is sworn in for a second term as president on January 20.

Asked if he would rule out using military or economic force to take Greenland or the Panama Canal, Trump said: “No, I can’t guarantee you either of those two.

“But I can say this, we need them for economic security.”

Greenland has been a US radar base since the Cold War and has long been strategically important to Washington.

Trump has suggested the island was central to military efforts to track Chinese and Russian ships, which he said are “everywhere”.

“I’m talking about protecting the free world,” he told reporters.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told Danish television on Tuesday that “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders” and that only its people can decide its future.

However, he stressed that Denmark needs close cooperation with the US.

Greenland MP Kuno Fencker told the BBC that the population was preparing for “some bold statements” from Trump, but that the island’s “sovereignty and self-determination are non-negotiable”.

Fencker, whose Siumut party is part of Greenland’s governing coalition, said local authorities would benefit from a “constructive and mutually beneficial dialogue with the United States and other nations.”

He did not rule out a free association that includes Denmark and the US, but said “this is a decision for Greenlanders to make, not a politician’s decision”.

Greenland has a population of just 57,000 and is largely self-governing, although its economy depends on subsidies from Copenhagen and remains part of the kingdom of Denmark.

It also has some of the world’s largest deposits of rare earth minerals, which are essential for manufacturing batteries and high-tech devices.

Danish Broadcasting Corporation chief international correspondent Steffen Kretz, who is reporting from Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, said most people he spoke to were “shocked” by Trump’s refusal to use military force to control the territory.

He said that while the majority of the people of Greenland hoped for independence in the future, it needed a partner that could provide public services, defense and an economic base, as Denmark was doing now.

“I have yet to meet a person in Greenland who dreams of turning the island into a colony of another outside power like the United States.”

Kretz told the BBC that while the Danish government has sought to “downplay” any conflict with Trump, “behind the scenes I sense an awareness that this conflict has the potential to be the biggest international crisis for Denmark in modern history.”

The president-elect’s son, Donald Trump Jr., made a brief visit to Greenland on Tuesday in what he described as a “personal day trip” to talk to people.

He then posted a photo with a group from Greenland wearing pro-Trump hats at a bar.