Germany, France criticize Donald Trump's Greenland threats

Germany said borders must not be changed by force after US President-elect Donald Trump refused to rule out military action to take control of Greenland.

The vast Arctic island an autonomous territory of EU and NATO member Denmark.

What Germany and France said

German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said that "as always, the firm principle applies... that borders must not be moved by force," highlighting international agreements such as the UN Charter.

Hebestreit refused to be drawn on whether Berlin took Trump's threats against Denmark seriously.

"I don't want to assess" the comments, Hebestreit told a regular news conference, adding simply that the German government had "taken note" of them.