French President Emmanuel Macron criticised US President Donald Trump's threats to annex Greenland at the start of a visit to the Danish autonomous territory, reports FRANCE 24.
"That's not what allies do," Macron said as he arrived in Nuuk, Greenland's capital.
Macron is the first foreign head of state to visit the vast territory, located at the crossroads of the Atlantic and the Arctic, since Trump's annexation threats.
Trump, since returning to the White House in January, has repeatedly said America needs the strategically located, resource-rich island for security reasons, and has refused to rule out the use of force to secure it.
Denmark has also repeatedly stressed that Greenland "is not for sale."
Macron said his visit was aimed at conveying "France's and the European Union's solidarity" for "the sovereignty and territorial integrity" of Greenland.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, and dozens of Greenlanders waving their territory's red-and-white flags, were on hand to greet the French president.
Macron kicked off his six-hour visit with talks on board a Danish frigate with Frederiksen and Nielsen.
He was to later visit a glacier to see firsthand the effects of global warming. A visit to a hydroelectric plant was initially scheduled but was cancelled at the last minute.
Macron's trip to Greenland was "a signal in itself, made at the request of Danish and Greenlandic authorities", his office said ahead of the trip.
The Danish invitation to Macron contrasts sharply with the reception granted to US Vice President JD Vance, whose one-day trip to Greenland in March was seen as a provocation by both Nuuk and Copenhagen.
During his visit to the US Pituffik military base, Vance castigated Denmark for not having "done a good job by the people of Greenland", alleging they had neglected security.
Read more of this report from FRANCE 24.