WASHINGTON/OSLO/BRUSSELS/MOSCOW/HELSINKI – A freewheeling speech by US President Donald Trump in the Swiss Alpine town of Davos on Wednesday stunned the audience, putting transatlantic rifts under the spotlight, despite eased concerns about a possible US armed seizure of Greenland, a self-governing territory of Denmark.
In his speech, Trump ruled out taking Greenland by military force, saying he did not intend to use “excessive strength and force,” while insisting the United States was uniquely positioned to secure the territory.
“I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force, I won’t use force. All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland,” he said.
Trump called for “immediate negotiations” on a US acquisition of the territory, describing it as “a strategic national and international security interest.”
“His comments marked a strategic shift and a walkback for the White House,” CNN said Wednesday in an analysis. “Trump’s walkback notably comes after we saw something pretty unusual on Tuesday: foreign leaders standing up to him and talking about banding together to resist the United States.”
“His pledge, if he sticks to it, makes much more unlikely the previously unthinkable prospect of the United States effectively invading a NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) ally,” the analysis added.
Trump also announced on Wednesday his decision not to follow through on his threat to impose new tariffs on eight European countries over Greenland following a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. In a social media post, Trump said a framework had emerged from a “very productive meeting” with Rutte. “Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on Feb 1,” Trump wrote.
While the concern is eased “at least for now,” the CNN analysis warned, “the clash is hardly over.”
Trump told Fox Business on Thursday morning that the United States will get everything it wants, in relation to Greenland, “at no cost,” adding that a part of the Golden Dome missile defense system will be on the island.
The White House is negotiating a deal to secure US “total access” to Denmark’s Greenland with no time limit, Trump said.
“I mean, we’re talking about, it’s really being negotiated now, the details of it, but essentially it’s total access. There’s no end, there’s no time limit,” Trump said in the interview.
‘NATO chief has no mandate to negotiate’
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen stated on Thursday that Rutte does not have a mandate to negotiate on behalf of Denmark or Greenland.
The statement followed comments from US President Donald Trump, who said Wednesday that his meeting with Rutte produced “the framework of a future deal” concerning Greenland and the broader Arctic region.
Frederiksen told Danish media that while Denmark has coordinated with a number of partners, including Rutte, to address the challenges facing Greenland, Rutte is not authorized to negotiate on behalf of Denmark or Greenland.
“The aim is to find a path that respects international law as well as the sovereignty of Denmark and Greenland,” she added.
Ahead of an emergency European Council summit in Brussels, Frederiksen said the status of Denmark as a sovereign state cannot be negotiated.
She said Denmark has asked the NATO to strengthen its presence in the Arctic region. “We need a permanent presence from NATO in the Arctic region, including around Greenland.”
Frederiksen reaffirmed that the kingdom’s sovereignty is the red line. “We have said from the very beginning that our status as a sovereign state is not up for discussion and cannot be changed,” she added.
Meanwhile, Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen reiterated that sovereignty remains a red line for his government, even amid intense pressure from the US.
“Our territorial integrity and borders are absolutely red lines that must not be crossed,” Nielsen told a press conference in Nuuk, capital of Greenland. “Greenland chooses the Greenland we know today, as part of the Kingdom of Denmark.”
When questioned whether Greenland now considers itself safe, Nielsen said that, prior to Wednesday’s statement by Trump, the possibility of a US military attempt could not be dismissed.
Greenland issue unrelated to Russia
Also on Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said current developments in Greenland are entirely unrelated to Russia.
Peskov said that issues concerning Greenland have nothing to do with Russia, and that Russia has a great deal of its own affairs to attend to.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that the United States and Denmark would resolve this dispute on their own.
EU unity urged
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Europe should draw lessons from its response to the United States over Greenland and strengthen unity.
Speaking at a press conference in Stockholm alongside Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard and Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson, Kristersson commented on the Greenland issue and Europe’s relations with the United States.
“Yesterday was a good learning opportunity about how we in the EU can act together from now on,” Kristersson said, adding that “a united Europe was able to make the United States back down.”