The prime ministers of Denmark and Greenland will travel to Germany and France this week in a bid to bolster European support amid President Trump’s recent push to take control of the Arctic island.
Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen and Greenland’s Jens-Frederik Nielsen will meet Tuesday with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Wednesday with French President Emmanuel Macron, according to their official schedules.
The meetings follow weeks of intense rhetoric from U.S. officials, including Mr. Trump, who insisted the U.S. must control Greenland to ensure the security of the Western Hemisphere.
That rhetoric has softened over the past week after Mr. Trump withdrew his threat to impose up to 25% tariffs on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland and ruled out using military force to take over the semi-autonomous Danish territory.
Mr. Trump announced last week that he had reached a deal with NATO leaders to grant the U.S. total and permanent control of Greenland.
Ms. Frederiksen and Mr. Nielsen have said that while both nations are open to cooperation with the U.S., Greenland’s territorial integrity is nonnegotiable.
Ms. Frederiksen and Mr. Nielsen’s meeting with Mr. Macron appears aimed at clarifying Europe’s role in Greenland’s security following the U.S.-NATO agreement, with the French leader expected to reaffirm his country’s support for Greenland’s sovereignty.
“The three leaders will discuss security challenges in the Arctic and the economic and social development of Greenland, which France and the European Union are ready to support,” a statement from Mr. Macron’s office reads.
The two leaders are expected Tuesday to attend the WELT Economic Summit in Berlin, where they are slated to meet with Mr. Merz.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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