French President Emmanuel Macron criticized Donald Trump's desire to annex Greenland and expressed Europe's solidarity with the autonomous Danish territory during his visit to the Arctic island on Sunday, world agencies reported, quoted by BTA.
Macron, the first French president to visit Greenland, said during a press conference that no one in Europe believes that Greenland is "for sale or for the taking", referring to statements by President Donald Trump that the US could buy Greenland, Agence France-Presse reported.
Macron earlier said that he had come "to express the solidarity of France and the European Union for the sovereignty and territorial integrity" of Greenland.
During his visit, Emmanuel Macron met with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Fredrik Nielsen aboard a Danish frigate.
In an address to the press, Frederiksen welcomed the opportunity this visit offers to discuss security challenges in the Arctic, stressing "his desire to take greater responsibility for security in the High North, with our good NATO allies".
France is also ready to organize "joint exercises" with other Arctic countries to strengthen security in the region, but within the framework of NATO, the French president stressed.
He also stressed that the EU wants to accelerate the implementation of the strategic partnership with Greenland on the extraction of raw materials.
"The strategic partnership signed in 2023 between the EU and Greenland (...) should enable the development of sustainable value chains in the strategic raw materials sector," he added.
At the same time, Macron expressed his disagreement with the possibility of Russian President Vladimir Putin playing a mediating role in the conflict between Israel and Iran. In an interview with "ABC News" on Sunday, Trump said he was "open" to the proposal for Putin to mediate talks between Israel and Iran, Reuters recalls.
"I do not believe that Russia, which is currently engaged in a high-intensity conflict and has decided for several years not to respect the UN Charter, can be a mediator in any way," the French president said in Greenland.
Macron spent six hours in Greenland before heading to Canada, where he will participate in a G-7 summit. There he intends to ask Trump whether he would impose additional sanctions on Russia over its war in Ukraine, he added.
"In my opinion, the question is whether President Trump is ready to propose much tougher sanctions against Russia if it refuses to respond to the" proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine, Macron added.