U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the world “shouldn’t waste too much time” on what U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has been saying about Greenland, reports RFE.
Trump reiterated this week that he wants the semi-autonomous Danish territory to come under U.S. control and did not rule out the possibility of using military force to achieve this.
“We need Greenland for national security purposes,” Trump said.
However, the outgoing Secretary of State stated that the new president’s goals are likely nothing more than just words.
“The expressed idea about Greenland is not a good one, of course,” Blinken said during a visit to Paris.
“More importantly, this is not going to happen. Therefore, we probably shouldn’t waste too much time talking about it,” he added.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also dismissed the possibility of American forces being deployed against Denmark, a NATO ally of the U.S.
However, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot also dismissed the idea of American forces being deployed against Denmark but warned that Europe should prepare for a period of turbulence in the future.
“Does anyone think the United States will invade Greenland? The answer is ‘no,'” Barrot said.
“But do we think we’re entering a period where the law of the strongest is returning? The answer is ‘yes,'” he added.
Barrot emphasized that Europe needs to become stronger militarily and more competitive economically and commercially to respond to this situation.
“We need to go much further in re-emphasizing who we are and what we want,” he said.
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has said that she doesn’t believe the U.S. will use military or economic force to take control of Greenland and called on the U.S. to show more “respect for the people of Greenland.”
In Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasized on Wednesday that the principle of inviolability of borders applies to every country, no matter how powerful it is, in response to Donald Trump’s comments, without mentioning the president-elect by name.
“Borders should not be changed by force,” Scholz said.
