Germany Declares Solidarity With Greenland Against Trump, France Floats Deploying Troops

Germany’s Chancellor tacitly compared President Trump’s desire to acquire Greenland from the Kingdom of Denmark to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while France said it offered its army to Greenland.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen had meetings in several European capitals on Tuesday in what has been interpreted as an impromptu tour of allies to build an alliance against the United States, as President Donald Trump has expressed the desire to acquire Greenland from the country. Greenland has been under the jurisdiction of Denmark for centuries, first a colony and now a largely autonomous territory.

The United States has a long history of buying territory from neighbours to expand the nation rather than through military conquest. It has previously floated the idea of a Greenland purchase several times, going back to the 19th century without success. However, with Greenland becoming increasingly strategically valuable in the race for the Arctic, in addition to its command of the North Atlantic and vast untapped mineral wealth, there has been growing interest in Washington to acquire the island.

Visiting Berlin on Tuesday, Frederiksen met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who appears to have decided that implying a similarity between Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is the best way to deal with Washington. It’s a high-risk strategy, but the German leader may be feeling braver than usual, given he will almost certainly be out of a job in three weeks when his party is widely predicted to flop in the federal elections.

Scholz, in a segment of his speech on Ukraine, which German media notes was likely intended for President Trump, said, “inviolability of borders is a fundamental principle of international law… The principle must apply to everyone… Borders must not be moved by force”. At this point, Scholz switched from German to English and added, simply: “To whom it may concern.”

The Danish prime minister then visited Paris, which seemingly prompted the French foreign minister to reveal that the Emmanuel Macron government had offered to deploy troops to Greenland if necessary. Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told national radio that the country had “started discussing [troop deployment] with Denmark,” but “at this point, it is not Denmark’s wish” to proceed with that plan.

Macron has already proven remarkably willing to deploy soldiers in recent months, having emerged as the leading European statesman on the question of sending troops to Ukraine to deter future Russian invasions.

Mette Frederiksen’s talks with allies follow what was apparently a difficult 45-minute telephone conversation she had with U.S. President Donald Trump in which the Danish political establishment was assured Trump’s words on acquiring Greenland were not mere rhetoric but sincere intention. This realisation apparently has put the government in “crisis mode” and “freaked out” the state.

The Frederiksen appears to have rushed out a $2 billion investment in Arctic security on Monday, likely intended as a signal to President Trump that they are capable of taking their position in the north seriously. As reported:

“We must face the fact that there are serious challenges regarding security and defense in the Arctic and North Atlantic,” Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said when announcing the increased defense spending on Monday.

Denmark’s entire defense budget adds up to 36.2 billion kroner (about $3.2 billion), so the Arctic program rolled out by Poulsen represents a substantial investment. Funding is included for improved surveillance on Arctic islands, three new Arctic ships that can launch helicopters and drones, more satellite coverage of the region, and more dogsled teams to patrol the ground.

A Danish populist politician in the European Parliament told Donald Trump to “fuck off” last week because Greenland is a long-established and appreciated part of the country. Yet paradoxically, having delivered this message in English, the lawmaker pivoted to speaking Danish and immediately started listing problems he perceived in Greenlandic society, which he said should be addressed.

Among the criticisms he identified were corruption and widespread child sexual abuse by Greenlandic adults.