French President Emmanuel Macron, during a visit to Greenland to offer his support to the Arctic island, said on Sunday that Russia lacked the credibility to mediate the crisis between Israel and Iran, as U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested.
In an interview with ABC News on Sunday, Trump said he was open to Russian President Vladimir Putin — whose forces invaded Ukraine in 2022 and who has resisted Trump’s attempts to broker a ceasefire with Kyiv — mediating between Israel and Iran. Macron said he rejected such an idea.
“I do not believe that Russia, which is now engaged in a high-intensity conflict and has decided not to respect the UN Charter for several years now, can be a mediator,” he said.
Macron also said France did not take part in any of Israel’s attacks against Iran.
The French leader was visiting Greenland — a self-governing part of Denmark with the right to declare independence that Trump has threatened to take over — ahead of a trip to Canada for the G7 leaders’ summit.
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has long been fascinated with owning and controlling Greenland, spanning from his interest in buying the country in 2019, to his recent refusal to rule out taking it by military force. Andrew Chang explores four potential reasons why Trump calls ownership of Greenland ‘an absolute necessity.’
Images provided by Getty Images, Reuters and The Canadian Press.
At a news conference alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Greenland’s prime minister, Macron said the island was threatened by “predatory ambition” and that its situation was a wake-up call for all Europeans.
“Greenland is not to be sold, not to be taken,” he said, adding that he has spoken with Trump ahead of his trip and would speak with him about Greenland at the G7. “I think there is a way forward in order to clearly build a better future in co-operation and not in provocation or confrontation.”
However, Macron said he ultimately doubted the United States would invade Greenland.
“I don’t believe that in the end, the U.S., which is an ally and a friend, will ever do something aggressive against another ally,” he said, adding he believed that “the United States of America remains engaged in NATO and our key and historical alliances.”
Trump has said he wants the U.S. to take over the mineral-rich, strategically located Arctic island, and he has not ruled out force.
His vice-president, JD Vance, visited a U.S. military base there in March. Macron is the first foreign leader to visit Greenland since Trump’s explicit threats to “get” the island.
According to an IFOP poll for NYC.eu published on Saturday, 77 per cent of French people and 56 per cent of Americans disapprove of an annexation of Greenland by the U.S., and 43 per cent of the French would back using French military power to prevent a U.S. invasion.
After Trump’s threats, Denmark’s Frederiksen made several visits to Paris to seek French and European backing and has placed orders for French-made surface-to-air missiles, in a shift of focus for Copenhagen.
