Trump says he no longer feels obliged to 'think purely of peace' as he presses Greenland claims

US president Donald Trump has said he “no longer feel[s] an obligation to think purely of Peace” in a letter to Norway’s prime minister and has reiterated demands that Greenland come under US control, prompting European leaders to coordinate a response to his threats and proposed tariffs.

Overnight Trump posted that “Nato has been telling Denmark, for 20 years, that ‘you have to get the Russian threat away from Greenland’” and said “now it is time, and it will be done.” US treasury secretary Scott Bessent told NBC that “Europeans project weakness, US projects strength” and said the president believes “enhanced security is not possible without Greenland being part of the US.” Trump also appeared to link Greenland’s future to continued US support for Ukraine.

The Norwegian prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, confirmed to VG that the letter was authentic and said it came after he and Finland’s Alexander Stubb had asked Trump for a phone call. European leaders pushed back: Germany’s vice-chancellor Lars Klingbeil said “we will not allow ourselves to be blackmailed” and France’s Roland Lescure said he would convene a G7 meeting and that France was “fully supportive of Greenland and Denmark.” In the UK, prime minister Keir Starmer called tariffs against allies “completely wrong” and said any decision on Greenland “belongs to the people of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark alone,” while declining to say if the UK would retaliate with tariffs.

Key Topics

Politics, Donald Trump, Greenland, Denmark, Nato, Jonas Gahr Støre