European leaders warn Trump over US interest in Arctic territory
Frederiksen signed the statement on Tuesday along with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Macron of France.
“NATO has made clear that the Arctic region is a priority and European allies are stepping up,” the seven leaders said.
Leaders gather for talks on Ukraine security on Tuesday. From left, Friedrich Merz of Germany, Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, Emmanuel Macron of France and Keir Starmer of the UK join US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.Credit: Getty Images
“We and many other Allies have increased our presence, activities and investments, to keep the Arctic safe and to deter adversaries. The Kingdom of Denmark – including Greenland – is part of NATO.
“Security in the Arctic must therefore be achieved collectively, in conjunction with NATO allies including the United States, by upholding the principles of the UN Charter, including sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders.
“These are universal principles, and we will not stop defending them.”
Carney, who flew into Paris for the meeting on Ukraine, echoed the European message.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney meets Danish leader Mette Frederiksen at the Canadian Embassy in Paris on Tuesday.Credit: AP
“The future of Greenland is a decision exclusively for the people of Greenland and Denmark,” Carney told reporters.
Trump expressed concern in an interview with The Atlantic on the weekend that Greenland was “surrounded by Russian and Chinese ships” and would be needed for US security.
“We do need Greenland, absolutely,” he said. “We need it for defence.”
Donald Trump addresses House Republicans in Washington on Tuesday.Credit: AP
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He did not say the US would take the territory by force, although he has refused to rule this out in the past, and he did not threaten an imminent move to seek American control.
The US operates a major air base and missile defence facility in the far north of Greenland under its 1951 treaty with Denmark, raising questions among experts about why the US would need to take full control.
While there are mineral resources in Greenland, these would be costly to extract because of the sub-zero conditions and some projects have proceeded under the existing governance of the territory.
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Arctic Frontiers, an independent group based in Norway, noted the swift response from Nordic countries defending Denmark and Greenland against the US president’s claims.
“The Nordics stand as a united front in response to the recent US comments about Greenland,” group executive director Anu Fredrikson saud in a statement to this masthead.
“In addition, we also see that the language used by the Danish government is more direct and less patient than previously.
“Moving away from multilateral collaboration can have dire consequences. Security guarantees formed the foundation of NATO deterrence. What happens to the perception of security guarantees when one ally threatens another?”
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