Reuters. France supports the reinforcement of the defense in the Arctic, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday (January 28), ahead of a meeting with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
Nielsen and Frederiksen were in Paris to meet with Macron to shore up support over U.S. President Donald Trump's push to take over the Arctic island that has been Danish territory for centuries.
"Given Russia's stance in the Far North, China's economic presence, and the strategic consequences of this rapprochement, we agree on the need to strengthen our defense posture in the Arctic," Macron said at a press conference with the two leaders.
France also supported increased NATO vigilance and activity in the Arctic, he said.
Talks between Greenland, Denmark and the United States are due to take place to try to find a solution to the crisis.
The U.S. demand for control of Greenland has shaken transatlantic relations and accelerated European efforts to reduce dependence on the United States, even as Trump last week withdrew tariff threats and ruled out taking Greenland by force.
Frederiksen said that what the crisis had shown was that the majority of Europeans were on the same page and had been able to unite to push back on Trump's demands, notably his threat of additional tariffs on some European states.
"I think there are some lessons learned in the last couple of weeks for Europe," she said.
Saying the world order was changing or even had already changed, Frederiksen said it was vital for Europe to become stronger.
