Emmanuel Macron Visits Greenland Amid US Bid To Takeover Island

French President Emmanuel Macron has become the first foreign leader to visit Greenland after US President Donald Trump's controversial statements about acquiring the island. Macron's visit comes amid growing international concern over the Arctic region's geopolitical stability and resource competition.

Upon arrival in the capital Nuuk, Macron was welcomed by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and the Greenlandic Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen. The visit has underscored the European solidarity in response to heightened tensions, following repeated assertions by Trump about the US interest in annexing Greenland, citing national security and the island's mineral wealth. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth recently stated that the Pentagon is prepared to use force if necessary to acquire the territory.

In this joint meeting, Macron criticised Washington's stance, declaring at the recent UN Ocean Conference that "the ocean is not for sale, Greenland is not for sale, the Arctic and no other seas are for sale." The leaders discussed North Atlantic and Arctic security and climate change, economic development and critical minerals. Earlier this year, the US Vice President JD Vance visited the American military base in Pituffik, expressing concerns over the lack of necessary territorial security. Meanwhile, the EU has strengthened its presence by investing in Greenland's graphite mines. Despite a growing movement for full independence from Denmark, many in Greenland strongly oppose any alignment with the US, polls state. Mette Frederiksen called this visit "another concrete testimony of European unity" amid a "difficult foreign policy situation in recent months".