Greenland not for sale, outside interference unacceptable: France

NUK: France considers recent outside interference in Greenland “disrespectful and unacceptable”, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Sunday, on a visit to the autonomous Danish territory.

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US President Donald Trump has said he wants to take control of Greenland, and Danish television revealed this week that at least three Americans have been conducting influence operations on the Arctic island.

Denmark summoned the US Charge d’Affaires to demand an explanation.

Read more: Rare earths: US diplomat summoned over Greenland ‘interference’

Barrot, visiting the Greenland capital Nuuk, announced that France would send a team to help Denmark better map the territory’s mineral resources, which are rich but under-exploited and coveted by Trump.

“The recent manoeuvres are unacceptable and disrespectful,” he said.

Earlier in May, Greenland handed a 30-year mining permit to a Danish-French mining group aiming to extract a moon-like rock that could offer a climate-friendly alternative in aluminium production.

Read more: European group gets Greenland mining permit amid Trump interest

Barrot said his visit would “send a message of European solidarity and French support to Denmark, Greenland, and the Greenlandic people.”

“Greenland is not for sale,” he added, echoing remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron, who came to express his solidarity with Greenland in mid-June.

Critical minerals. including rare earths, have gained such an importance amid the ongoing global trade war that Trump last week said China has to give the United States [rare earth] magnets or “we have to charge them 200% [US] tariff or something”.

Read more: Trump to China: Give magnets or face 200% tariffs