Davos: Calling for unity among middle powers to resist pressures from the great powers, global leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos responded sharply to the interest in acquiring Greenland and annexing Canada.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the world faces “instability and imbalances” and stressed that the solution lies in building “bridges and more cooperation with emerging countries, the BRICS and the G20”, warning that fragmentation will only deepen global uncertainty. (India is a member of both BRICS and the G20.)
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney echoed the call for solidarity among middle powers, saying, “If you are not at the table, you’re on the menu.” He cautioned that, unlike middle powers, the great powers can now act independently. With a note of grim realism, Carney described the moment as a “breaking of the world order, the end of a pleasant fiction and the beginning of a brutal reality where the geopolitics of the great powers is not subject to any constraint.”
“We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition," Carney added.
On Greenland, Macron affirmed Europe’s commitment to sovereignty and international law. Recalling the shared sacrifices of World War II, he said France and its allies have opted to participate in a cooperative exercise in Greenland, “without threatening anyone, but supporting an ally and another European country, Denmark”.
In his address, Macron emphasized that the antidote to global tensions is “more cooperation”, urging middle powers to work together to counter the growing influence and unilateral actions of the great powers.
According to a Reuters report, Macron's office has said that France has called for a NATO exercise in Greenland and is ready to participate in it.
