US President Donald Trump linked his aggressive stance on Greenland to last year’s decision not to award him the Nobel Peace Prize.
Nuuk: US President Donald Trump linked his aggressive stance on Greenland to last year’s decision not to award him the Nobel Peace Prize, telling Norway’s Prime Minister that he no longer felt “an obligation to think purely of Peace,” in a text message released Monday, January 19.
Trump’s message to Norway PM Jonas Gahr Støre appears to ratchet up a standoff between Washington and its closest allies over his threats to take over Greenland, a self-governing territory of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) member Denmark.
On Saturday, January 17, Trump announced a 10 per cent import tax starting in February on goods from eight nations that have rallied around Denmark and Greenland, including Norway.
Those countries issued a forceful rebuke.
Many longtime allies of the US remained resolute that Greenland was not for sale but encouraged Washington to discuss solutions. In a statement on social media, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc had “no interest to pick a fight” but would “hold our ground.”
The White House has not ruled taking control of the strategic Arctic island by force. Asked whether Trump could invade Greenland, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said Monday that “you can’t leave anything out until the president himself has decided to leave anything out.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also sought to de-escalate tensions Monday. “I think this can be resolved and should be resolved through calm discussion,” he said, adding that he did not believe military action would occur.
In a sign of how tensions have increased in recent days, thousands of Greenlanders marched over the weekend in protest of any effort to take over their island. Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said in a Facebook post Monday that the tariff threats would not change their stance.
“We will not be pressured,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, Naaja Nathanielsen, Greenland’s minister for business, minerals, energy, justice and equality, told The Associated Press that she was moved by the quick response of allies to the tariff threat and said it showed that countries realise “this is about more than Greenland.
