France working with allies on plan should US move on Greenland

PARIS - France is working with partners on a plan over how to respond should the United States act on its threat to take over Greenland, a minister said on Jan 7, as Europe sought to address US President Donald Trump’s ambitions in the region.

A US military seizure of Greenland from a longtime ally, Denmark, would send shock waves through the Nato alliance and deepen the divide between Mr Trump and European leaders.

France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the subject would be raised at a meeting with the foreign ministers of Germany and Poland later in the day.

“We want to take action, but we want to do so together with our European partners,” he said on France Inter radio.

A German government source said separately that Germany was “closely working together with other European countries and Denmark on the next steps regarding Greenland”.

A senior European official said Denmark must lead the effort to coordinate a response, but “the Danes have yet to communicate to their European allies what kind of concrete support they wish to receive,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Leaders from major European powers and Canada

have rallied behind Greenland

this week, saying the Arctic island belongs to its people, following a renewed threat by Mr Trump to take over the territory.

Mr Johannes Koskinen, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Finland’s Parliament, called for the issue to be raised at NATO.

NATO allies should “address whether something needs to be done and whether the United States should be brought into line in the sense that it cannot disregard jointly agreed plans in order to pursue its own power ambitions,” he said.

The next North Atlantic Council meeting is scheduled for Jan 8.

Mr Trump has in recent days repeated that

he wants to gain control of Greenland

, an idea first voiced in 2019 during his first presidency.

He has argued it is key for the US military and that Denmark has not done enough to protect it.

The White House said on Jan 6 that Mr Trump was discussing options for acquiring Greenland, including potential use of the US military, in a revival of his ambition to control the strategic island, despite European objections.

Mr Barrot suggested a US military operation had been ruled out by a top US official.

“I myself was on the phone yesterday with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (...) who confirmed that this was not the approach taken... he ruled out the possibility of an invasion (of Greenland),” he said.

A US military operation over the weekend that

seized the leader of Venezuela

had already rekindled concerns that Greenland might face a similar scenario.

A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said this week that Mr Trump and his advisers were discussing a variety of ways to acquire Greenland, including a purchase.

Greenland and Denmark have said the island is not for sale.

Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart, Ms Vivian Motzfeldt, have requested an urgent meeting with Mr Rubio to discuss the situation.

“We would like to add some nuance to the conversation,” Mr Rasmussen wrote in a social media post. “The shouting match must be replaced by a more sensible dialogue. Now.”

The world’s largest island but with a population of just 57,000 people, Greenland is not an independent member of NATO but is covered by Denmark’s membership of the Western alliance.

The island is strategically located between Europe and North America, making it a critical site for the US ballistic missile defence system for decades.

Its mineral wealth also aligns with Washington’s ambition to reduce reliance on China.

Mr Trump has repeatedly said Russian and Chinese vessels are stalking waters around Greenland, which Denmark disputes.

“The image that’s being painted of Russian and Chinese ships right inside the Nuuk fjord and massive Chinese investments being made is not correct,” Mr Rasmussen told reporters late on Jan 6.

Vessel tracking data from MarineTraffic and LSEG show no presence of Chinese or Russian ships near Greenland. 

The Danish and Greenlandic governments did not immediately respond to a request for comment by e-mail and phone on Jan 7. REUTERS