Trump
France and Germany on Wednesday, warned Donald Trump against threatening “sovereign borders” after the US president-elect refused to rule out military action to take Greenland, an autonomous territory of European Union member Denmark.
“There is no question of the EU letting other nations in the world, whoever they may be… attack its sovereign borders,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told France Inter radio.
“We are a strong continent. We need to strengthen ourselves more,” he added.
In Berlin, German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said in response to Trump’s remarks that “as always, the firm principle applies… that borders must not be moved by force”.
Barrot described Greenland as “European territory”. Greenland is associated with the European Union through Denmark, of which it is a self-governing territory, but withdrew from the European bloc in 1985 after securing autonomy.
Trump set off a new alarm on Tuesday at a press conference when he refused to rule out military intervention over the Panama Canal and Greenland, both of which he has said he wants the United States to control.
“We need Greenland for national security purposes,” he declared. Punch
