France has expressed readiness to send troops to Greenland
France has discussed with Denmark the issue of sending troops to the territory of Greenland in order to protect the island. This was announced by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on January 28.
The topic was raised amid repeated statements by US President Donald Trump about annexing the territory.
"We started talking about it (deployment of troops in Greenland. - Ed.) with Denmark, which was ready to think about whether our security interests are at stake," the foreign minister said in an interview with Sud Radio.
He clarified that the borders of the European Union (EU) are not negotiable. According to Barro, no one is interested in a conflict with the EU.
He added that France will support Denmark in case the country asks for solidarity from the European Union member states.
Earlier in the day, Bloomberg reported that Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen went on a European tour over Greenland amid Trump's desire to bring the island under US control. It was specified that meetings with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French leader Emmanuel Macron, as well as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte have already taken place.
The day before, it was reported that Denmark would spend 14.5 billion Danish kroner ($2.05 billion) to strengthen its military presence in the Arctic due to the US president's interest in gaining control of Greenland. On January 25, Trump pushed for the acquisition of Greenland during a phone call with Frederiksen. He was reportedly aggressive and conflicted.
On December 22, 2024, Trump stated that it was an absolute necessity for the US to own and control Greenland. He had previously expressed interest in buying the island from Denmark in 2019, but was turned down. On January 14, 2024, it was reported that representatives of the Republican Party in the U.S. House of Representatives put forward a bill to authorize negotiations on the purchase of Greenland.
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