(Bloomberg) -- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz pushed back on comments made by US President-elect Donald Trump, including a threat to use economic force to annex Canada and seize Greenland.
On Tuesday, Trump called for absorbing Canada, declined to rule out using military force to take the Panama Canal and Greenland, a self-ruling territory of Denmark, and demanded North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies spend 5% of economic output on defense.
Without identifying Trump by name, Scholz said he discussed the latest developments with European allies in a joint phone call on Wednesday. There was common agreement that respect for national borders and the sovereignty of other countries are key pillars of the international order, he said.
“In my discussions with our European allies, there was a certain level of incomprehension with regard to the latest statements from the US,” Scholz told reporters in Berlin.
“The inviolability of borders applies to every country, regardless of whether it’s to the east or west of us,” the chancellor added, referencing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Every country must abide by it, regardless of whether it’s a small country or a very powerful state.”
Participants on the call included Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Polish Premier Donald Tusk and European Council President Antonio Costa, according to a person familiar with the talks who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Scholz commented after French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that Trump’s comments are a reminder that Europe needs to become more assertive.
“We need to wake up, strengthen ourselves in a world overtaken by might-makes-right in terms of military, competitiveness,” he said.
Trump on Tuesday threatened to impose tariffs on Denmark, which oversees Greenland’s foreign and security affairs, and mused about “economic force” to absorb Canada as a US state.
Speaking at a seperate news conference, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said his nation was open to dialog and closer cooperation with its biggest ally.
“We see a Russian escalation in the Arctic; we see increased Chinese interest; and of course this raises some legitimate security policy considerations from the American side,” Rasmussen said. “And we of course want to be accommodating towards and resolve these, and we are well underway with that.”
Even as Scholz distanced himself from the president-elect of NATO’s most powerful member state, the chancellor said the military alliance remains a central pillar of transatlantic relations.
“The security situation in Europe will be very tense for the foreseeable future,” the German leader said. “We must react to this in a determined and prudent manner.”
NATO allies are constantly assessing and discussing their military capabilities on the basis of a detailed threat analysis, the chancellor said. “It is important that we stand together on these issues and act as one.”
--With assistance from Jenny Leonard, Christoph Rauwald and Sanne Wass.
(Adds comments from Scholz, Danish foreign minister from 10th paragraph.)
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