French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot doesn’t think the U.S. president-elect would actually try to capture the Arctic island by force.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Wednesday that the EU won’t allow other countries to attack their sovereign borders, in response to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s refusal to rule out military force to take Greenland.
« It is out of the question that the European Union would let other countries … attack its sovereign borders, whoever they are, » Barrot said on French radio.
Barrot added that he did not believe Trump would actually invade Greenland.
« If you’re asking me whether I think the United States will invade Greenland, my answer is no. But have we entered into a period of time when it is survival of the fittest? Then my answer is yes, » Barrot said.
Trump on Tuesday did not dismiss the possibility that the U.S. could use military force to acquire the Arctic island or the Panama Canal.
Asked if he would rule out economic or military coercion to gain control of Greenland and the Central American canal, Trump said, “I’m not gonna commit to that. No. It might be that you’ll have to do something.”
The European Commission did not immediately respond to POLITICO’s request for a comment.
