BERLIN — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday that the principle of inviolability of borders applies to every country, however powerful, and suggested that recent expansionist comments by President-elect Donald Trump are meeting with “incomprehension” among European leaders.
Mr. Trump on Tuesday told reporters he would not rule out the use of military force to seize control of the Panama Canal and Greenland — an autonomous territory of Denmark, a longtime U.S. ally and a member of NATO and the European Union. He declared U.S. control of both to be vital to American national security.
In a hastily arranged statement to reporters, the center-left German leader said he spoke earlier Wednesday with several European leaders, whom he didn’t name, and the president of the European Council.
He said it was a longstanding central principle that “borders must not be moved by force,” a principle that Russian President Vladimir Putin violated with his war in Ukraine. He added that during Wednesday’s discussions “a certain incomprehension became clear regarding current comments from the U.S.”
It was just the latest sign that Mr. Trump’s prickly relations with some key Western European powers in his first term in office could be repeated as he prepares for a second four years in the White House later this month.
“The principle of the inviolability of borders applies to every country, regardless of whether it lies to the east of us or the west, and every state must keep to it, regardless of whether it is a small country or a very powerful state,” Mr. Scholz said.
“It is a fundamental principle of international law and a key part of what we call Western values,” he added.
Mr. Scholz did not refer to Trump by name or mention the details of his comments.
The Social Democrat, who is seeking a second term in an early election next month, also noted that NATO is “a central pillar of the transatlantic relationship.”
At his news conference on Tuesday, Mr. Trump said he believes that NATO should dramatically increase its spending targets, with members committing to spend at least 5% of their GDP on defense spending, up from the current benchmark of 2%. He did not say what the 5% standard was based upon but has long accused leading NATO countries of not paying their fair share of the alliance’s collective defense burden.
Germany, a target of Mr. Trump’s ire for failing to meet the latter target during his first term, raised its spending to meet it in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Mr. Scholz said there is a “regulated procedure” within NATO for determining the necessary military capabilities. He said “it is important that we stand together and act in unity on these questions.”
On a stop in Paris, outgoing Secretary of State Antony Blinken said tersely advised European leaders to effectively ignore the comments of the president-elect as both unrealistic and irrelevant. The world should “not to waste a lot of time” on what Mr. Trump has been saying about taking over Greenland, Mr. Blinken said in joint remarks with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.
“The idea expressed about Greenland is obviously not a good one,” the senior U.S. diplomat said. “Maybe 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.”
Mr. Barrot also played down any possibility of U.S. forces being deployed against Denmark, a U.S. ally in the NATO military alliance, in a clash over control of Greenland, but added Europe must brace for turbulence ahead.
“Do we think the United States will invade Greenland? The answer is, ‘No,’” the French minister said. “But do we think that we’re entering into a period that sees the return of the law of the strongest? The answer is, ‘Yes.’”
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has said she does not believe Mr. Trump will use military or economic power to secure control over Greenland and has appealed for U.S. behavior “that is respectful of the Greenlandic people.”
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