Europe Cautious as U.S. Intervention in Venezuela and Greenland Threats Loom

European leaders met in Paris with senior American negotiators to discuss how to secure a peace settlement in Ukraine even as many are privately alarmed by President Trump’s military intervention in Venezuela and his threats over Greenland. Officials said the talks produced progress on security assurances for a postwar Ukraine, but a cease-fire appears distant because Russia is not part of the talks.

Earlier the same day some countries issued a joint statement of solidarity with Denmark calling for collective NATO security in the Arctic, including the United States, but the statement contained no explicit criticism of Washington. Many Europeans have said little publicly while expressing private panic, according to Mark Leonard of the European Council on Foreign Relations, who warned of a “massive gap between public and private reactions.” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark warned bluntly that a move on Greenland would “finish NATO,” and President Emmanuel Macron said he could not imagine a scenario in which the United States would violate Danish sovereignty.

Analysts quoted in the meeting said Mr. Trump’s return to what they described as a more imperialist posture has left Europe unsure how to respond. The European Union has urged monitoring and a democratic transition in Venezuela and affirmed Greenland’s territorial integrity but has threatened no action if the United States acts.

With dependence on U.S.

Key Topics

World, Donald Trump, Greenland, Venezuela, Denmark, Ukraine