French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Greenland next
weekend in a high-profile show of solidarity with Denmark as U.S.
President Donald Trump continues to express interest in acquiring the
Arctic island, Breitbart reported.
Macron is set to visit Greenland on June 15, the Danish prime
minister’s office confirmed Saturday. The visit comes amid heightened
geopolitical attention on the mineral-rich Arctic island, following
repeated assertions by Trump that the United States may seek control of
the territory.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland’s new prime
minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, will join Macron. The meeting will take
place in Greenland, a semiautonomous Danish territory, and is expected
to focus on regional security in the North Atlantic and Arctic, as well
as economic development, energy, and climate change.
Macron's visit marks a significant gesture of support from the European
Union, especially as the French leader represents one of the bloc's most
militarily powerful nations. Frederiksen called the moment important,
given the recent international discourse over Greenland’s status.
In her statement Saturday, Frederiksen acknowledged the challenges of recent months and emphasized the solidarity within Europe.
"President Macron’s upcoming visit to Greenland is yet another
concrete testament to European unity,” she said, pointing to the shared
EU membership of France and Denmark. She also referenced the “difficult
foreign policy situation in recent months” but praised what she
described as “great international support” for both Greenland and
Denmark.
Tensions surrounding Greenland escalated after President Trump said
in March that the United States would take control of the island “one
way or the other,” renewing concern in Europe and within Greenland’s
leadership, CNBC reported.
Addressing a joint session of Congress in Washington, Trump said: “We
strongly support your right to determine your own future, and if you
choose, we welcome you into the United States of America.”
Trump continued, “We will keep you safe, we will make you rich, and
together, we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought
possible before.”
While Trump extended warm words to Greenlanders, he also reiterated
that U.S. control of the Arctic territory was a matter of national
security.
The proposal has not gone unnoticed by Greenlandic officials. Prime
Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen pushed back against such rhetoric in late
April, calling the remarks disrespectful and reiterating Greenland’s
autonomy.
“Greenland will never be ‘a piece of property’ that anyone can buy,” Nielsen said.
Although the topic has faded somewhat from recent headlines, Macron’s
upcoming visit seemingly reasserts European presence in the region and
reinforces the political and territorial bond between Denmark,
Greenland, and the European Union.
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