Trump's Greenland Comment "Incomprehension" For EU: German Chancellor

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday that EU leaders were baffled after US President-elect Donald Trump refused to rule out military action to take Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark.

"In my discussions with our European partners, there has been a notable incomprehension when it comes to current statements from the USA regarding the principle of the inviolability of borders," Olaf Scholz said, without specifically naming Trump.

Trump, who takes office on January 20, set off new alarm on Tuesday when he refused to rule out military intervention over the Panama Canal and Greenland, both of which he has said he wants the United States to control.

Scholz, who called a statement to the media at short notice after talking to "a number of European heads of state and government and the President of the European Council", stressed that the "inviolability of borders is a fundamental principle of international law".

He said that it was that principle that had been violated in Russia's invasion of Ukraine and that it applied to "every country, regardless of whether it is to the east or west of us".

"Every state must abide by it, regardless of whether it is a small country or a very powerful state," he went on.

He also indirectly addressed Trump's call to other NATO members to boost their defence spending to five percent of GDP.

Scholz recalled that "there is a regulated procedure in NATO for precisely this purpose" and that such targets had to be discussed "with all alliance partners".

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