France is working with partners on a plan over how to respond should the United States act on its threat to take over Greenland, as Europe seeks to address US President Donald Trump's ambitions in the region. Denmark and Greenland say they are seeking a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The White House said on Tuesday that 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.
Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the subject would be raised at a meeting with the foreign ministers of Germany and Poland later on Wednesday.
"We want to take action, but we want to do so together with our European partners," he said on France Inter radio on Wednesday morning.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt, have requested the meeting with Rubio in the near future, according to a statement posted Tuesday to Greenland's government website. Previous requests for a sit-down were not successful, the statement said.
However, 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.
Trump weighs military option to acquire Greenland
Trump renews Greenland ambitions
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.
A US military seizure of Greenland from a longtime ally, Denmark, would send shock waves through the Nato alliance and deepen the divide between Trump and European leaders.
Leaders from major European powers and Canada have rallied behind Greenland, saying the Arctic island belongs to its people.
A US military operation over the weekend that seized the leader of Venezuela had already rekindled concerns that Greenland might face a similar scenario. It has repeatedly said it does not want to be part of the United States.
'That's enough': Greenland PM reacts to Trump threats
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.
Mette Frederiksen, the Danish prime minister, warned on Monday that any US attack on a NATO ally would be the end of both the military alliance and "post-second world war security“.
Strategically located between Europe and North America, the US has an early warning air base in northwestern Greenland.
The island's mineral wealth also aligns with Washington's ambition to reduce reliance on China.
(with newswires)
