PARIS (AP) 鈥� Outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is advising the world 鈥渘ot to waste a lot of time鈥� on what President-elect Donald Trump has been saying about
Trump made clear again this week that he鈥檇 like the semiautonomous territory of Denmark to come under U.S. control and said he would not rule out the use of military force to make that happen.
鈥淲e need Greenland for national security purposes,鈥�
But Blinken said Wednesday that the incoming president's ambitions are unlikely to amount to anything more than talk.
鈥淭he idea expressed about Greenland is obviously not a good one,鈥� the senior U.S. diplomat said during a stop in Paris for meetings.
鈥淢aybe more important, it's obviously one that's not going to happen. So we probably shouldn't waste a lot of time talking about it," he said.
France鈥檚 foreign minister, Jean-No毛l Barrot, also played down any possibility of U.S. forces being deployed against Denmark, a U.S. ally in the NATO military alliance.
But Barrot warned nevertheless that Europe must brace for turbulence ahead 鈥� as other powers throw their weight around.
鈥淒o we think the United States will invade Greenland? The answer is, 鈥楴o,鈥欌�� the French minister said. 鈥淏ut do we think that we鈥檙e entering into a period that sees the return of the law of the strongest, the answer is, 鈥榊es.鈥欌��
Europe must become stronger militarily and more economically and commercially competitive in response, Barrot said.
鈥淲e have to go a lot further to affirm who we are, what we want,鈥� he said.
The Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, has said she does not believe the United States will use military or economic power to secure control over Greenland and has appealed for U.S. behavior 鈥渢hat is respectful of the Greenlandic people.鈥�
In Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday that the principle of inviolability of borders applies to every country no matter how powerful, in a reaction to Trump's remarks that did not mention the president-elect by name. 鈥淏orders must not be moved by force,鈥� Scholz said.
The Associated Press
