France is preparing to open a consulate in Greenland next month in a move that it says reflects the semiautonomous island’s desire to remain part of Denmark and the European Union.
Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told the broadcaster RTL on Wednesday that the opening of the consulate in the self-governed Danish territory, scheduled for February 6, is a “political signal” amid the ongoing threats from United States President Donald Trump to take control of the island.
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“It’s a political signal that’s associated with a desire to be more present in Greenland, including in the scientific field,” Barrot said.
“Greenland does not want to be owned, governed … or integrated into the United States. Greenland has made the choice of Denmark, NATO, [European] Union.”
The French foreign minister’s comments came as his Danish and Greenlandic counterparts, Lars Lokke Rasmussen and Vivian Motzfeldt, were due to meet US Vice President JD Vance in Washington, DC, to discuss the island.
Trump’s repeated statements that the Arctic territory will be brought under US control “one way or another” have created a crisis inside NATO.
European allies have warned that any takeover of the island would have serious repercussions for the relationship between the US and Europe.
Trump has said the US needs Greenland, where Washington has long maintained military bases, due to the threat of a takeover posed by Russia and China. He claims that Denmark has neglected the territory’s security.
It’s also noted that Greenland has significant mineral riches, including oil and gas as well as rare earths needed for technological products.
Denmark’s defence minister said on Wednesday that it plans to “strengthen” its military presence in Greenland and was in dialogue with its allies in NATO.
“We will continue to strengthen our military presence in Greenland, but we will also have an even greater focus within NATO on more exercises and an increased NATO presence in the Arctic,” Troels Lund Poulsen wrote in a statement to the AFP news agency.
‘Big problem’
Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said on Tuesday that the territory wanted to remain part of Denmark rather than join the US.
“We are now facing a geopolitical crisis, and if we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark,” he said at a news conference in Copenhagen.
Asked about Nielsen’s comments, Trump responded: “I disagree with him. I don’t know who he is. I don’t know anything about him. But that’s going to be a big problem for him.”
The US president’s aggressive rhetoric continues to provoke pledges of support for Denmark and Greenland from other NATO nations.
Barrot said the decision to open the consulate was taken in the summer when President Emmanuel Macron visited Greenland in a show of support. Barrot said he had visited the island in August to make plans for the consulate.