'Respect sovereignty', 'only a rhetoric': European leaders react to Trump's Greenland threat

'Respect sovereignty', 'only a rhetoric': European leaders react to Trump's Greenland threat

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European leaders reacted to Trump's statement at a press conference on Tuesday that he would not rule out military action to take control of Greenland. He had earlier vowed to slap high tariffs on Denmark if it refused to cede its autonomous territory.

While Italian PM Meloni and British FM Lammy dismissed Trump's remarks, other European countries remain apprehensive of the American administration's future actions.

'Message to other big global players'

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday dismissed speculation that the US might use force to annex Greenland or the Panama Canal, attributing former President Donald Trump's comments to a message for China.

"I feel like I can rule out that the United States in the coming years will try to forcefully annex territories that interest them," Meloni told reporters at her annual press conference. She added that Trump's remarks were "more of a message to... other big global players".

Meloni stated she did not foresee the US attempting to forcibly take these territories, noting their importance in world trade and their growing Chinese influence.

Trump had suggested the US needed Greenland for national security, citing its strategic resources.

Meloni, a strong supporter of Ukraine, also expressed confidence that Trump would not abandon Kyiv despite his earlier comments.

She has not confirmed whether she will attend Trump’s inauguration on January 20.

'Respect sovereignty of Greenland'

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Thursday said that Greenland's sovereignty must be respected after US president-elect Donald Trump refused to rule out military action to seize the Arctic island.

"Greenland is part of Denmark," Kallas told journalists.

"We have to respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Greenland."

Kallas said she had spoken to Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen after Trump's comments.

"She assured that the Danish and American relations have been very good," Kallas said.

"She also said that it's good that the president-elect takes an interest in the Arctic, which is a very important region, both for security but also for climate change."

Denmark's foreign minister on Wednesday said that Copenhagen was open to talks with the United States to safeguard US interests in the Arctic.

'Consult the people of Greenland'

The Kremlin is closely following US President-elect Donald Trump's claim to Greenland, a spokesman said on Thursday, expressing relief that currently it was only rhetoric.

"We are very closely watching this rather dramatic development of the situation, which is, thank God, at the level of statements so far," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"We are interested in preserving peace and stability in this zone and are ready to cooperate with any parties for this peace and stability," he added.

He also suggested the people of Greenland be consulted about what they wanted, pointing to Russia's annexation of four Ukrainian regions in 2022 based on referendums.

"We should show the same respect for the opinion of these people," Peskov said.

Western countries and Kyiv denounced Russia's annexations of four regions in Ukraine as illegal and the referendums as a sham.

'Classic Donald Trump'

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy declined to condemn president-elect Donald Trump's comments about acquiring Greenland, while asserting that the move was "not going to happen."

In a round of interviews on Thursday, Lammy branded the incoming US president's remarks "classic Donald Trump," emphasising that the issue revolved around "national economic security" and Greenland's right to self-determination.

While he avoided criticism of Trump, noting the president's "rhetoric" and "unpredictability" could be destabilising, Lammy acknowledged the US's interest in Greenland, given its military presence in the region.

He also pointed out that Greenland remains part of the Kingdom of Denmark, with internal debates about its future.

'Inviolability of borders fundamental principle of international law'

European leaders on Wednesday warned Donald Trump against threatening "sovereign borders" after the US President-elect refused to rule out military action to take Greenland.

Germany's Olaf Scholz said Trump's comments had sparked "notable incomprehension" among EU leaders the chancellor had spoken with.

"We need Greenland for national security purposes," he declared.

Trump also labelled the US-Canada border an "artificially drawn line" and promised to rename the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America".

In Berlin, Scholz convened a press conference at short notice and stressed that the "inviolability of borders is a fundamental principle of international law".

In a later tweet in English, Scholz reiterated Berlin's position that "borders must not be moved by force" and that Trump's latest outburst had cause "uneasiness" among European governments.

Referring indirectly to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Scholz said that the principle of sovereign borders "applies to every country, whether in the East or the West".

'Wild hypothetical stuff'

Donald Trump Jr made a whistlestop visit to Greenland's capital Nuuk on Tuesday, insisting he was only making a day-long trip as a "tourist" and he was not there to "buy" the territory.

Denmark itself struck a more emollient tone, even as Trump threatened to slap high tariffs on Copenhagen if it refused to cede Greenland.

Foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said the Danish Realm -- which includes Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands -- is "open to a dialogue with the Americans on how we can cooperate, possibly even more closely than we already do, to ensure that American ambitions are fulfilled".

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Greenland was "European territory" and there was "no question of the EU letting other nations in the world, whoever they may be... attack its sovereign borders".

In Brussels, the EU attempted to avoid being drawn into a war of words, one spokesman dismissing Trump's territorial claim as "wild hypothetical stuff".

Another EU spokeswoman confirmed that Greenland was covered by a mutual defence clause binding EU members to assist one another in case of attack.

"But we are indeed speaking of something extremely theoretical on which we will not want to elaborate," EU Commission spokeswoman Paula Pinho told reporters.

Greenland has been autonomous since 1979 and has its own flag, language and institutions. But justice, monetary, defence and foreign affairs all remain under Danish control.

Imperialism

Barrot ruled out the possibility of a US invasion of Greenland but told France Inter radio: "We have entered an era that is seeing the return of the law of the strongest ... We need to wake up and reinforce ourselves, militarily, in competition, in a world where the law of the strongest prevails."

Barrot said he believed the United States was "inherently not imperialistic" and said he "did not believe" that that was changing.

French government spokeswoman Sophie Primas told reporters after a cabinet meeting that "Today we are seeing the rise in blocs, we can see this as a form of imperialism, which materialises itself in the statements that we saw from Mr Trump on the annexation of an entire territory."

"More than ever, we and our European partners need to be conscious, to get away from a form of naivety, to protect ourselves, to rearm," she added.

Why is Trump interested in Greenland?

Greenland is a self-governing Danish territory covered in ice, with untapped mineral resources and geostrategic importance.

Though Trump has expressed interest in acquiring the country, experts are still perplexed at what the incoming presidential administration is actually planning.

"We are still in the waiting room when it comes to knowing exactly what the Trump administration means," said Lill Rastad Bjorst, an associate professor at Aalborg University specialising in Greenland.

Since 2009, Greenlanders have been in charge of deciding how their natural resources are used.

Access to Greenland's mineral resources is considered crucial by the United States, which signed a memorandum on cooperation in the sector in 2019. The EU followed suit four years later with its own agreement.

Greenland's soil is well explored, which has enabled a detailed map of resources to be drawn up.

The EU has identified 25 of the 34 minerals on its official list of critical raw materials in Greenland, including rare earth minerals.

"As the demand for minerals is rising, there is a need to go and look for untapped resources," said Ditte Brasso Sorensen, an analyst at Think Tank Europa. "Actors are more and more aware they need to diversify their sources, especially when it comes to the dependence to China on rare earth elements." Adding to this is the fear that China will get its hands on the mineral resources, she explained.

Yet the mining sector in Greenland is currently largely non-existent.

There are only two mines on the island -- one for rubies, which is looking for new investors, and the other for anorthosite, a rock containing titanium.

Infrastructure is also a key issue for the development of the mining industry.

"When it comes to extractive industries, Trump is putting Greenland on the mining map in discourse but it's hard to say how it could evolve as there is a lack of investors," Rastad Bjorst noted.

Sorensen also stressed the inherent difficulties of such endeavours in Greenland with its "very harsh weather conditions, a protected environment and lots of costs with the need to develop the physical and digital infrastructure".

"The untested regulatory system also adds to the uncertainties," she said.

Public opposition to uranium mining in southern Greenland prompted legislation banning the extraction of radioactive products.

Another potential resource to be exploited is oil but it is currently at a standstill.