Europe is up in arms with the very serious prospect of US President Donald J. Trump forcing his way – either by force or economic warfare – into possession of the island of Greenland.
Trump’s repeated intent to take control of Greenland arises from a need for national security.
Euronews reported:
“’I think we’re going to have it’, Trump said over the weekend. ‘I don’t really know what claim Denmark has to it, but it would be a very unfriendly act if they didn’t allow that to happen because it’s for the protection of the free world’.”
A semi-autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, Greenland is highly strategic due to its location in the Arctic Sea and is rich in rare metals.
“Unlike Denmark, the sprawling island of 56,000 people is not a part of the 27-country bloc but enjoys a special status with access to EU funds and freedom of movement for Greenlanders, who are considered EU citizens. Moreover, Greenland is covered by the mutual defense clause laid out by the EU treaties. Under Article 42.7, all member states have an ‘obligation of aid and assistance’ if another member state falls ‘victim of armed aggression on its territory’.
‘Borders may not be moved by force: To whom it may concern’, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Tuesday after meeting with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. ‘The inviolability of borders is a fundamental principle of international law’, he continued, without mentioning Trump by name. ‘The principle must apply to all’.
‘It is up to Europe to define the future of our continent’, Frederiksen said.”
In Brussels, European Commissioner for Defense Andrius Kubilius said the EU is ready to defend their member state, Denmark, while top diplomat Kaja Kallas said Europeans should not underestimate their own power.
“The sense of alert spiked after details emerged of a 45-minute phone call between Trump and Frederiksen, during which Trump insisted on his desire to take over the island and Frederiksen replied Greenland was not for sale. The phone call was described as ‘icy’ and ‘aggressive’ by the New York Times. The Financial Times called it ‘fiery’ and ‘horrendous’, citing sources.”
Read: Trump Applies Heavy Pressure on Denmark for the Ownership of Greenland, Leaving Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Her Government in Full ‘Crisis Mode’
In the meantime, the always-eager French are saber-rattling and offering to send troops to Greenland – always crazy for some geopolitical relevance.
Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said he has discussed with Denmark sending troops to Greenland in response to Trump’s intent to annex the island.
Politico reported:
“Asked about calls to send EU troops to Greenland, Barrot said in an interview with France’s Sud Radio that France had “started discussing [troop deployment] with Denmark,” but that it was not “Denmark’s wish” to proceed with the idea.
[…] ‘If Denmark calls for help, France will be there’, he said. ‘The European borders are sovereign whether it’s north, south, east and west … nobody can allow themselves to mess around with our borders’.”
The European Union foreign ministers expressed their ‘very strong support’ for Copenhagen and were reportedly ‘ready to consider’ sending troops if needed, says Barrot.
“The French foreign minister, however, said he did not believe the U.S. would invade Greenland. ‘It won’t happen, people don’t invade EU territories’, he said.”
Read: If Denmark Decides To Sell Greenland, It Will Have To Offer the UK Priority in Purchasing It Due to 1917 Agreement, Says the Last Danish Minister for the Island
But not everyone was happy singing war hymns in anticipation. British PM Keir Starmer refused to back Denmark in its ongoing row with Donald Trump over Greenland.
GB News reported:
“’I’m not going to comment on issues that are not central to what I have to deal with in relation to the UK and the US relationship’, he said.”
The reaction was pure fury by Labour MP and Starmer critic Diane Abbott, who said her party’s leader is ‘terrified’ of the US President.
“’Starmer is terrified of Trump’, she wrote on social media, laying into his ‘refusal to comment on Trump’s plan to buy Greenland’.
[…] And Danish foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen has vowed: ‘Trump will not have Greenland. Greenland is Greenland. And the Greenlandic people are a people, also in the sense of international law. This is also why we have said time and again that it is ultimately Greenland that decides Greenland’s situation’.”
Read more:
TRUMP EFFECT: Frantic Denmark Invests $2 Billion in Greenland Defense, as PM Frederiksen Gathers Leaders of Sweden, Finland and Norway for Dinner, Goes on European Tour for Support
The post BATTLEGROUND GREENLAND: Denmark’s Frederiksen Gains Support of Germany’s Scholz, While Macron’s France Offers To Send Soldiers, but UK’s Starmer Refuses to Back the Island’s Defense appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.