France offers to send troops to Greenland as Trump threatens takeover: foreign minister

Alsharq Tribune - RS

France could send troops to Greenland to defend against Donald Trump's threat to take control of the Danish territory, according to a high-ranking official.

French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot told Sud Radio that France had discussed troop deployment with Denmark, which did not wish to proceed with the idea, reported Politico.

"If Denmark calls for help, France will be there," Barrot said. "The European borders are sovereign whether it's north, south, east and west ... nobody can allow themselves to mess around with our borders."

Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen is currently on a quick tour of European capitals to discuss how to respond to Trump's threats to claim control of the massive Arctic island, and he will meet with NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte in Brussels after talking with German chancellor Olaf Scholz and French president Emmanuel Macron.

Denmark, France and Germany are all members of the NATO alliance, and so is the U.S., although Trump has attacked the organization over defense spending since his first term in the White House.

Barrot said that other foreign ministers from the European Union, when they gathered this week in Brussels, had expressed "very strong support" for Denmark in the dispute and "were ready to consider" sending troops if necessary, but he doubted that would be necessary.

"It won't happen," Barrot said. "People don't invade EU territories."