The document falls short of denouncing the US president's ambition and instead calls on Washington to respect sovereignty

A group of European leaders have issued a joint statement defending Greenland as part of Denmark and calling on the US to uphold the NATO state's territorial integrity.

US President Donald Trump has restated his long-held interest in taking over the autonomous Danish territory shortly after Washington attacked Venezuela and abducted its President Nicolas Maduro. In the aftermath, Danish PM Mette Frederiksen said Trump must be taken "seriously when he says he wants Greenland."

The document, released on Tuesday and signed by Frederiksen, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as well as the leaders of Italy, Spain, and Poland, states that "Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland."

Trump has long insisted that the US must control the resource-rich Arctic island given its strategic location. He has also suggested that Copenhagen cannot properly protect Greenland, citing Russian and Chinese naval activity in the area. Moscow has maintained it has never threatened anyone in the Arctic.

The European leaders' statement says that NATO's European allies see the Arctic region as a priority and are "stepping up" to keep it "safe and to deter adversaries."

The document, however, has fallen short of condemning the US ambition to acquire Greenland but instead describes it as an "essential partner" in defending "security in the Arctic," and calls on Washington to "uphold the principles of the UN charter, including sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders."

The EU issued a similar muted reaction after the US attacked the oil-rich Venezuela on Saturday, abducting Maduro and his wife, and flying them to New York to stand trial on drug-trafficking charges.

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The statement by the bloc's diplomatic service on Sunday neither condemned nor supported the US actions, instead urging "calm and restraint" and calling for adherence to the UN Charter.