France has deployed a first group of soldiers to the autonomous Danish territory of Greenland as part of a European military mission and will send others from its land, air and naval forces in the coming days, French President Emmanuel Macron said today, quoted by Agence France-Presse, BTA reported.
"France and Europeans must continue to be where their interests are threatened, without escalation, but uncompromising in terms of respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty," the French leader said during his New Year's address to the French armed forces at the Istres air base, near Marseille. He added that France's role is "to be on the side of a sovereign state to defend its territory".
This morning, Macron called an emergency meeting of the Defense Council to discuss US President Donald Trump's stated intention to acquire Greenland, as well as the violent suppression of national protests in Iran, Reuters reports.
In a midnight message on the social network „Ex“ Macron said the first group of French troops had already left for Greenland to take part in exercises organised by Denmark and the autonomous Arctic territory.
Allied countries including Germany, Norway and Sweden have begun sending troops to Greenland in a show of support for Copenhagen and Nuuk.
The troop deployment following a high-stakes meeting between US, Danish and Greenlandic officials shows that there are still fundamental, if not insurmountable, differences between how Washington, Copenhagen and Nuuk see the future of the island. “At the request of Denmark, I have decided that France will participate in joint exercises organised by Denmark in Greenland,” Macron wrote in Ex. “The first French units are already on their way. Others will follow,” he added.