European Allies Working On Plan Should U.S. Move On Greenland
PARIS/BERLIN, Jan 7 (Reuters) – Allies including France and Germany are working closely on a plan for how to respond if the United States acts on its policy. Threat to take over GreenlandAs Europe tries to appeal to US President Donald Trump’s ambitions in the region.
A US military seizure of Greenland from long-time ally Denmark would send shockwaves through the NATO alliance and deepen the rift between Trump and European leaders.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said: the issue will come up Later in the day, he is in a meeting with the foreign ministers of Germany and Poland.
“We want to take action, but we want to do it together with our European partners,” he said on France Inter radio.
A German government source separately said Germany was “working closely with other European countries and Denmark on next steps regarding Greenland.”
A senior European official said Denmark should lead the effort to coordinate a response, but the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said “the Danes have not yet communicated to their European allies what kind of concrete support they want to receive.”
Leaders of major European powers and Canada gathered It stood behind Greenland this week, saying the Arctic island belonged to its people after Trump’s new threat to seize the region.
Johannes Koskinen, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Finnish parliament, called for the issue to be brought to the agenda at NATO.
He said NATO allies “need to consider whether something needs to be done and whether it needs to be brought into line in a way that the United States cannot ignore jointly agreed upon plans to pursue its own power ambitions.”
The next North Atlantic Council meeting is scheduled for Thursday.
TRUMP RESTARTS TAKEOVER EFFORT
Trump has has been repeated in recent days He wants to take control of Greenland, an idea first floated in 2019 during his first presidency. He claims the island is key to US military strategy and that Denmark is not doing enough to protect it.
Trump is discussing options to buy Greenland, including the potential use of the U.S. military, to reignite his ambitions to control the strategic island despite European objections, the White House said Tuesday.
Barrot claimed that the US military operation was rejected by Washington’s top diplomat.
“I spoke on the phone yesterday with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (…) and he confirmed that this is not the approach… (He ruled out the possibility of invading Greenland),” he said.
US military operation over the weekend captured the Venezuelan leader Concerns that Greenland might face a similar scenario had already been reignited.
A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said this week that Trump and his advisers were discussing various ways to acquire Greenland, including a buyout. Greenland and Denmark announced that the island is not for sale.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt requested an urgent meeting with Rubio to discuss the situation.
“We want to add some nuance to the conversation,” Rasmussen wrote in a social media post. “Shouting must be replaced by more rational dialogue. Now.”
DENMARK OBJECTS TO THE RUSSIAN AND CHINESE PRESENCE
It is the largest island in the world with a population of only 57,000 people. Greenland It is not an independent member of NATO, but is part of Denmark’s membership in the Western alliance.
The island is strategically located between Europe and North America, making it a critical region for the US ballistic missile defense system for decades. Mineral wealth also aligns with Washington’s desire to reduce dependence on China.
Trump has repeatedly said Russian and Chinese ships are navigating the waters around Greenland, but Denmark disputes this.
“The image portrayed that Russian and Chinese ships are in the Nuuk fjord and that China is making major investments is not correct,” Rasmussen told reporters late Tuesday.
Ship tracking data from MarineTraffic and LSEG do not indicate the presence of Chinese or Russian ships near Greenland.
The governments of Denmark and Greenland did not immediately respond to a request for comment by email and telephone on Wednesday.
(Reporting by John Irish in Paris, Andreas Rinke in Berlin, Anne Kauranen in Helsinki, Terje Solsvik and Nerijus Adomaitis in Oslo; Writing by Niklas Pollard; Editing by Ros Russell)
