Macron to visit Greenland to boost ‘European unity’ amid Trump threats

French leader’s sojourn to Greenland comes aft US President Donald Trump’s threats to annex the Arctic territory.

French President Emmanuel Macron volition sojourn Greenland this month, the French presidency has announced, successful the aftermath of United States expressions of involvement successful taking implicit the mineral-rich Arctic island.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and the French person said they volition conscionable successful the semi-autonomous Danish territory connected June 15, hosted by Greenland’s caller Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen.

The talks betwixt the leaders volition absorption connected North Atlantic and Arctic security, clime change, vigor modulation and captious minerals, the French presidency said successful a connection connected Saturday.

Frederiksen welcomed Macron’s upcoming sojourn and said successful a connection that it is “another factual grounds of European unity” successful the look of a “difficult overseas argumentation situation”.

The sojourn comes amid US President Donald Trump’s threats to annex Greenland.

This travel aims to “strengthen cooperation” with the Arctic territory successful these areas and to “contribute to the strengthening of European sovereignty”, the French presidency connection stressed.

Since his instrumentality to the White House successful January, Trump has repeatedly expressed his tendency to power the immense Arctic territory, affluent successful mineral resources and strategically located, “one mode oregon another”.

“We request Greenland for planetary information and security. We request it. We person to person it,” Trump said successful an interrogation successful March.

The US has besides suggested that Russia and China person strategical designs connected Greenland.

Trump’s Vice President JD Vance visited the US subject basal successful Pituffik, northwest Greenland, connected March 28, successful a travel seen arsenic a provocation astatine the time.

Vance accused Denmark of not having “done a bully occupation for the radical of Greenland”, not investing capable successful the section system and “not ensuring its security”.

The vice president stressed that the US has “no option” but to instrumentality a important presumption to guarantee the information of the land arsenic helium encouraged a propulsion successful Greenland for independency from Denmark.

“I deliberation that they yet volition spouse with the United States,” Vance said. “We could marque them overmuch much secure. We could bash a batch much protection. And I deliberation they’d fare a batch amended economically arsenic well.”

Denmark, for its part, insists that Greenland “is not for sale”.

Addressing American leaders from the immense island, the premier curate said successful aboriginal April: “You cannot annex different country.”

Faced with American threats, Denmark announced 14.6 cardinal Danish kroner ($2.1bn) successful fiscal commitments for Arctic security, covering 3 caller naval vessels, long-range drones and satellites.

Greenland’s main governmental parties, which are successful favour of the territory’s independency successful the agelong term, are besides against the thought of joining the US.

According to a canvass published astatine the extremity of January, the colonisation of 57,000 mostly Inuit inhabitants, including much than 19,000 successful the capital, Nuuk, rejected immoderate imaginable of becoming American.

Incoming Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen told a quality league successful March that the territory needed unity astatine this time.

“It is precise important that we enactment speech our disagreements and differences … due to the fact that lone successful this mode volition we beryllium capable to header with the dense unit we are exposed to from outside,” helium said.