European officials have issued warnings to Donald Trump against threatening “sovereign borders” after he said he would not rule out military action as a means to seize Greenland.
Led by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the pushback came on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT), with Scholz saying nations borders must be respected by every country, no matter how powerful.
He added that Trump’s comments had caused “notable incomprehension” among European Union leaders he had spoken with.
Scholz later wrote on X that “Borders must not be moved by force. This principle applies to every country, whether in the East or the West.”
France’s foreign minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, also issued a statement on Trump's comments, saying that Greenland was “European territory” and there was “no question of the EU letting other nations in the world, whoever they may be … attack its sovereign borders”.
EU officials looked largely to avoid issuing their own statements on the “extremely theoretical” matter, however one spokesperson confirmed to reporters that Greenland was covered by a mutual defence clause binding its members to assist one another in case of attack.