MOSCOW, Feb 3 (Reuters) – Russia is ready for the new reality of a world with no nuclear arms control limits after the New START treaty expires later this week, Russia’s point man for arms control said on Tuesday.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov also said that if the U.S. pumped lots of missile defence systems onto Greenland then Russia would have to take compensatory measures in its military sphere.
(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
COPENHAGEN, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Hundreds of Danes gathered outside the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen on Saturday in support of veterans who said they had been insulted by President Donald Trump’s comment that European allies had kept “off the front lines” in the Afghanistan war.
Denmark, with a population less than 2% the size of the United States, was one of the major combat allies in the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, losing 44 service members killed, a per capita death toll on par with that of the Americans themselves.
Trump had already antagonised Danes by demanding the annexation of Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of the Danish kingdom, when he made the remarks last week questioning the role of NATO allies during the conflict.
The remarks sparked widespread backlash from Europeans, with Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer calling them “insulting and frankly appalling”. Trump subsequently singled out British troops for praise, but stopped short of apologising or addressing the role of European troops more broadly.
“Behind all these flags, there’s a guy, there’s a soldier, there’s a young man,” said retired Danish Lieutenant-Colonel Niels Christian Koefoed, who served in Afghanistan, as demonstrators planted Danish flags embroidered with the names of the deceased outside the U.S. Embassy.
The protesters, many wearing medals received for their NATO service, marched to the embassy, where the names of Danish soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq were read aloud. The event concluded with a moment of silence.
“I lost a very close friend and colleague of mine,” said Afghanistan veteran Jesper Larsen. “So I was hurt by what Mr Trump said, and I think he owes all my combat friends an apology.”
(Writing by Jacob Gronholt-PedersenEditing by Peter Graff)
Hundreds of Danish veterans, many of whom fought alongside U.S. troops in the Middle East, staged a silent protest Saturday outside the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen in response to the Trump administration’s threats to take over Greenland and belittling their combat contributions.
“Denmark has always stood side by side with the USA — and we have showed up in the world’s crisis zones when the USA has asked us to. We feel let down and ridiculed by the Trump Administration, which is deliberately disregarding Denmark’s combat side by side with the USA,” Danish Veterans & Veteran Support said in a statement.
“Words cannot describe how much it hurts us that Denmark’s contributions and sacrifices in the fight for democracy, peace and freedom are being forgotten in the White House,” it said.
Danish Veterans gather for a “silent protest march” from Kastellet in Copenhagen to the American embassy in Copenhagen on January 31, 2026.
Emil Helms / Ritzau Scanpix /AFP via Getty Images
Danish veterans are furious at the White House’s rhetoric, which disregards Greenland’s right to self-determination, a territory of NATO ally Denmark. They also strongly object to President Trump’s claim that Denmark is incapable of protecting the West’s security interests in the Arctic.
On Saturday, veterans first gathered at a monument honoring fallen Danish service members, then marched to the nearby U.S. Embassy, where they observed five minutes of silence — one each for Denmark’s army, air force, navy, emergency management agency and police.
“We also want to tell Americans that what Trump said is an insult to us and the values that we defended together,” Soren Knudsen, vice president of Denmark’s veterans association, told the Agence France-Presse.
He added that the organizers were pleasantly surprised by the support they’ve received.
“It all started within the association and grew into a large event,” Knudsen said.
Denmark’s Veterans gather for a “silent demonstration march” from Kastellet in Copenhagen to the American embassy in Copenhagen on January 31, 2026.
Emil Helms / Ritzau Scanpix /AFP via Getty Images
Danish combat veteran Martin Aaholm, who served in Afghanistan alongside U.S. troops and lost both of his legs to an improvised explosive device, told CBS News earlier this week that he feels “angry and betrayed” by Mr. Trump’s comments about Greenland and Denmark.
“I have sacrificed a lot of friends, family, girlfriends, all because I was placed on the path of helping America after 9/11,” he said, adding that it was worth helping America. “I was amazed that we would answer the call, us little Denmark. I was amazed that we were able to fight with the big guys.”
“I think America has lost its soul. It’s not the America I grew up with, where America was the defender of peace in the world and wanted to spread democracy,” Aaholm added.
Forty-four Danish soldiers were killed in Afghanistan, the highest per capita death toll among coalition forces. Eight more died in Iraq.
Tensions were further inflamed on Tuesday when 44 Danish flags — one for every Danish soldier killed in Afghanistan — that had been placed in front of the embassy were removed by embassy staff.
Danish flags are placed in front of the US embassy in Copenhagen, Denmark, on January 28, 2026.
Kristian Tuxen Ladegaard Berg/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The embassy apologized and replaced them.
“We have nothing but the deepest respect for Danish veterans and the sacrifices Danish soldiers have made for our shared security. There was no ill intent behind the removal of the flags,” it said in a post on its Facebook page.
The State Department later said that, as a general rule, guard staff remove items left behind following demonstrations and other “legitimate exercises of free speech.” The flags were returned to those who left them, it said.
If it weren’t 2,900 miles away, I’d consider a January vacation.
You’ll be happy to know that according to our local Republican congressmen, the Donald Trump administration has no intention whatsoever of bothering those nice fisherman and fjord tour guides and coffee baristas in Nuuk.
No sir, no plans whatsoever. Just ignore all that bluster from the blusterer-in-chief.
Northern lights (Aurora Borealis) glow above a small church in the city of Nuuk, Greenland on January 28, 2026. INA FASSBENDER AFP via Getty Images
Self said Trump “plows the ground, and people get upset. Then he says, ‘Well, why don’t we do this?’ — and they come around.”
Dog sledding is a way of life in Greenland. Because of global warming, the sledding season has shortened and now is most reliable February-April. Preben Kaspersen Courtesy of Greenland Tourism.
Well, sure.
A lot of countries come around at hearing the term “invasion.”
Denmark and America’s NATO allies will just “get over it,” Self said.
“We’re not going to own it,” he said. “It’s going to be — I don’t know, simply leased.”
In other words, nice chunk of ice you got there, Denmark.
Be a shame if something happened to it. Maybe you oughta lease it out.
Self said outright that we want Greenland for the minerals. Oh, and for defense against Russia.
Bathers enjoy a hot spring pool on a small island in Greenland as icebergs float by in a nearby fjord in 1996. Liam Pleven Newsday
U.S. Rep. Roger Williams of Willow Park told WFAA that the Greenland talk is not a threat.
“Right now it’s a business deal,” said Williams, a car dealer.
U.S. Rep. Jake Ellzey of Ellis County was even more dismissive.
He said it’s all show.
“The message here is not to NATO or Denmark,” Ellzey told WFAA.
It’s to China and Russia, he said: “The message from Donald Trump and this administration is, don’t mess with Greenland.”
Ellzey described Trump’s years-long Greenland pursuit as a “symbol.”
“Nobody’s talking about taking it over,” Ellzey said.
Really?
That’s not what Denmark heard.
“The world order as we know it that we have been fighting for 80 years is ove,r and I don’t think it will return,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Wednesday at Sciences Po University in Paris, according to Reuters.
Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said his people are “afraid and scared.”
See? They’re getting worried for no reason at all.
Just ask our congressmen.
National Geographic photographer Ralph Lee Hopkins guides a photo tour in SIsimiut, Greenland, on Aug. 11, 2000. Steve Haggerty Photography/Colorworld TNS
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London — European military veterans, families of the fallen, and politicians have voiced outrage after President Trump claimed the U.S. had “never needed” its NATO allies, and that allied troops had stayed “a little off the front lines” during the 20-year war in Afghanistan.
“The only time NATO has ever enacted Article 5 was after the 9-11 terrorist attacks on the United States, and the world rallied to the support of the U.S.,” Alistair Carns, the U.K. government’s Minister of the Armed Forces and a veteran who served five tours in Afghanistan alongside American troops, said in a video posted Friday on social media. “We shed blood, sweat and tears together, and not everybody came home. These are bonds, I think, forged in fire, protecting U.S. or shared interests, but actually protecting democracy overall.”
More than 2,200 American troops were killed in Afghanistan, according to the Pentagon. The Reuters news agency says 457 British military personnel, 150 Canadians and 90 French troops died alongside them. Denmark lost 44 troops in Afghanistan — in per capita terms, about the same death rate as that of the United States.
People react as hearses carrying the bodies of eight British soldiers killed in Afghanistan pass mourners lining the street in Wootton Bassett, England, July 14, 2009. Two of the troops were just 18-years-old when they were killed in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, where British and U.S. forces were involved in a major operation to recapture territory from Taliban militants.
Matt Cardy/Getty
“There are two great sayings worth remembering,” Carns said in his video responding to Mr. Trump’s remarks. “Number one: ‘There’s only one worse thing than working with allies. That is working without them.’ And when you do, always remember: ‘Never above, never below, always side-by-side.”
A spokesperson for U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Friday that Mr. Trump, “was wrong to diminish the role of NATO troops” in Afghanistan.
Later Friday, Starmer called the remarks “insulting and frankly appalling.”
“We expect an apology for this statement,” Roman Polko, a retired Polish general and former special forces commander who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, told the Reuters news agency.
Mr. Trump has “crossed a red line,” he said. “We paid with blood for this alliance. We truly sacrificed our own lives.”
Lucy Aldridge, the mother of the youngest British soldier killed in Afghanistan, told the BBC she was “deeply disgusted” by Mr. Trump’s comments. Her son William Aldridge was only 18 years old when he was killed in a 2009 bomb blast, while trying to save fellow troops.
The Bredenbury War Memorial, in Herefordshire, England, is seen after the name of Rifleman William Aldridge, who was killed at the age of 18, fighting in Afghanistan in 2009, was added.
David Jones/PA Images/Getty
“Families of those who were lost to that conflict live the trauma every day. I’m not just deeply offended, I’m actually deeply disgusted,” Aldridge said. “This isn’t just misspeaking, he has deeply offended, I can imagine, every NATO member who sent troops to fight in Afghanistan and certainly the families of those who never came home.”
The former head of the British Army, Lord Richard Dannatt, called Mr. Trump’s comments, “outrageous.”
“Well frankly, one was dumbfounded, because they’re [Mr. Trump’s comments] so factually incorrect. Absolutely disrespectful to our nation, to our armed forces and to the families of the 457 British service men and women who lost their lives in Afghanistan,” Dannatt told the BBC.
“The comments that he made … are just totally disrespectful, wrong and outrageous. It does make you wonder whether he is actually fit for the job that he apparently is doing,” Dannatt added.
“We Europeans must do more, and if there’s anything positive that Donald Trump has done in his assorted ramblings over the last year, it’s actually to make that point,” the former U.K. army chief said. “European governments must really listen up, stand up now and find the cash that’s needed to increase our military capability, not because we want to fight a war, but we need to deter further aggression.”
CBS News asked the White House on Friday about Mr. Trump’s remarks on the role America’s NATO allies played in the war in Afghanistan, and the criticism directed at him.
Deputy press secretary Anna Kelly replied with the following statement: “President Trump is right — America’s contributions to NATO dwarf that of other countries, and his success in delivering a five percent spending pledge from NATO allies is helping Europe take greater responsibility for its own defense. The United States is the only NATO partner who can protect Greenland, and the President is advancing NATO interests in doing so.”
Jan 22 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said the details of a U.S. agreement over Greenland were still being worked out on Thursday, speaking one day after he stepped back from a tariff threat and ruled out the use of force to seize the Danish territory.
Trump, in an interview on Fox Business Network from Davos, also acknowledged the impact of his quest for Greenland on global markets and said he did not plan to pay to acquire it.
“It’s really being negotiated now, the details of it. But essentially it’s total access. It’s – there’s no end, there’s no time limit,” Trump said from the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.
“I noticed the stock market went up very substantially after we announced it,” he told FBN’s “Mornings with Maria” program.
Asked about the possibility of Europeans selling U.S. stocks and bonds, he added: “If they do, they do. But if that would happen, there would be a big retaliation on our part, and we have all the cards.”
Trump began floating the idea of acquiring Greenland after taking office last year but stepped up his rhetoric in recent weeks, threatening a 10% tariff on eight European countries over the weekend that shook investors.
He continued his push in a more than hour-long speech at Davos on Wednesday before meeting with the head of NATO and announcing plans for a new deal that has yet to be defined.
Asked on Thursday what he was willing to pay for the semi-autonomous territory, he added: “We’re going to not have to pay anything other than the fact that we are building the Golden Dome.”
Trump said any deal would allow “total access” to Greenland, including for the military: “We’re getting everything we want at no cost”.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Alex Richardson, William Maclean)
COPENHAGEN, Jan 22 (Reuters) – Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Thursday that Denmark and Greenland will continue to engage in a constructive dialogue on security in the Arctic, provided that this is done with respect for her country’s territorial integrity.
U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly stepped back on Wednesday from threats to impose tariffs as leverage to seize Greenland, ruled out the use of force and suggested a deal was in sight to end a dispute over the Danish territory.
After meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump said Western Arctic allies could forge agreement that satisfies his desire for a “Golden Dome” missile‑defence system and access to minerals while blocking Russia and China’s ambitions.
Frederiksen said NATO was fully aware of Denmark’s position, and that she had been informed that Rutte’s talks did not involve her country’s sovereignty.
“”Security in the Arctic is a matter for the entire NATO alliance. Therefore, it is good and natural that it is also discussed between NATO’s secretary general and the president of the United States,” Frederiksen said in a statement.
“The Kingdom of Denmark wishes to continue to engage in a constructive dialogue with allies on how we can strengthen security in the Arctic, including the United States’ Golden Dome, provided that this is done with respect for our territorial integrity,” she said.
(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen, editing by Terje Solsvik and Essi Lehto)
President Donald Trump said Thursday that proposed tariffs against European allies are off the table after what he described as a tentative agreement with NATO tied to Greenland and Arctic security.
Trump said there is now a “concept of a deal” following talks in Switzerland, easing trade tensions that flared after European countries pushed back on his interest in acquiring Greenland.
“I think it’s going to be a very good deal for the United States — also for them,” Trump said to CNBC.
The announcement came after the president said the United States would not use military force to take Greenland from Denmark. Instead, Trump said the focus has shifted to cooperation with allies on security concerns in the Arctic region.
“We’re going to work together on something having to do with the Arctic as a whole, but also Greenland — and it has to do with the security, great security, strong security, and other things,” Trump said.
NBC10 Boston political commentator Sue O’Connell weighs in on Greenland.
Earlier Thursday, the European Union said it would pause adoption of a U.S. trade deal reached last summer in response to Trump’s proposal to impose tariffs on a handful of EU countries opposed to U.S. ownership of Greenland.
“We took that off, because it looks like we have, pretty much, a concept of a deal,” he said. “It’s a little bit complex, but we’ll explain it down the line.”
Former U.S. Ambassador to Denmark Alan Leventhal told NBC10 Boston he agrees with the president on security concerns in the Arctic, particularly as ice caps continue to melt.
“Minerals and resources on the seabed in the Arctic Ocean are going to open up,” Leventhal said.
However, he warned that pressuring allies could risk a broader trade conflict and send the wrong signal to adversaries like Russia and China as it pertains to taking over territory by force.
“I think the best path is to work with the Danes and the Greenlanders to achieve whatever we want on Greenland, short of owning Greenland,” Leventhal said.
Trump said the agreement would “last forever,” though he did not provide details. He also said owning Greenland would give the United States a greater incentive to defend it through his proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense system.
President Trump has made a series of claims about Greenland in recent weeks, insisting the United States needs to take control of the island to protect Americans — a view Greenland officials and NATO allies reject.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, Mr. Trump called acquiring Greenland “a core national security interest of the United States of America,” reiterating his interest in acquiring the self-governing territory from Denmark.
Later Wednesday, following a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, the president seemed to temper his language, saying that he and Rutte had reached “the framework of a future deal” regarding Greenland. The president did not provide details on the alleged deal.
As he’s sought to justify his efforts, Mr. Trump has claimed in interviews and conversations with world leaders that Denmark has no legal claim to Greenland. He’s also exaggerated threats from China and Russia, and falsely suggested Denmark provides almost no defense for the island.
Here’s a closer look at several of those claims.
Trump’s claim that Denmark has no legal right to Greenland
Mr. Trump wrote in a text exchange with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre on Jan. 19: “Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a ‘right of ownership’ anyway? There are no written documents, it’s only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also.”
Details: In the text exchange with Støre, Mr. Trump questioned Denmark’s sovereignty over Greenland, writing there are “no written documents” establishing ownership.
The claim is false.
There are written agreements and court rulings establishing Denmark’s claim to Greenland, including a declaration by the U.S. secretary of state in 1916 which explicitly recognized Danish control over the territory. An international court also ruled in 1933 that Denmark held valid sovereignty over the entire island.
Danish explorers and settlers began colonizing Greenland in the early 1700s, at a time when the U.S. was still a British colony.
“Danish expeditions reached and settled Greenland centuries ago,” Marc Jacobsen, a professor at the Royal Danish Defence College, told CBS News in an email. “Since then, Denmark’s sovereignty over Greenland has been internationally recognized, including by the U.S., just as similar claims are recognized for many other nations around the world.”
Trump’s claim that Russian and Chinese ships surround Greenland
Trump said in a press gaggle on Jan. 4: “Right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place.” (Press gaggle, January 4)
Mr. Trump said at a Jan. 9 press conference: “We need that because if you take a look outside of Greenland right now, there are Russian destroyers. There are Chinese destroyers and bigger. There are Russian submarines all over the place. We’re not going to have Russia or China occupy Greenland, and that’s what they’re going to do if we don’t.”
Details: Trump has also repeatedly claimed that a large number of Russian and Chinese ships are currently operating near Greenland.
There is no evidence to support that claim.
Greenland’s minister of business Naaja Nathanielsen said she was “not aware” of any Russian and Chinese ships or submarines around Greenland when asked about Mr.Trump’s comments earlier this month.
Public ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic does not show any Russian- or Chinese-flagged commercial vessels around Greenland, with most traffic consisting of fishing boats. While vessels can turn off their transponders or spoof their locations, experts say there is no indication of the large-scale naval presence Mr. Trump has described.
Open-source data shows the maritime activity around Greenland on Jan. 19, 2026. Pink arrows represent fishing boats while green arrows represent cargo ships.
MarineTraffic.com
“The claim by President Trump of Russian and Chinese ships all over the place does not hold,” Romain Chuffart, the managing director of The Arctic Institute, a non-profit think tank, told CBS News by email.
Other experts have noted that Russian naval activity in the Arctic is concentrated near Norway, while China’s Arctic involvement has focused on trade with Russia and exercises near Alaska.
Trump’s claim that Denmark’s defenses in Greenland consist of “two dog sleds”
Mr. Trump told reporters on Jan. 11: “And Greenland basically, their defense is two dog sleds. Do you know that? You know what their defense is? Two dog sleds.”
Details: In jest or not, that is incorrect. While Danish special forces do operate the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol — a special force which patrols remote, icy areas using sled dogs — that is just one part of its military presence.
Denmark deploys Arctic patrol vessels, surveillance aircraft, and maintains a military base in Nuuk with about 150 personnel, according to the Danish Ministry of Defense.
Danish officials have also committed roughly $6.5 billion to modernize military capabilities in Greenland over the next decade, Chuffart said.
As for the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, the 12-person team uses dog sleds because it is “the most adequate mode of transportation in the region,” according to Chuffart.
The U.S. already operates an air base in Greenland and has the option to expand its presence under a 1951 agreement with Denmark. Danish officials have said they would welcome greater U.S. cooperation on security — but insist Greenland is not for sale.
NUUK, Greenland — President Trump retreated Wednesday from his most serious threats toward Denmark, easing transatlantic tensions and lifting Wall Street after rejecting the prospect he would use military force to annex Greenland, a Danish territory and the world’s largest island.
Instead, the United States struck a “framework” agreement in talks with NATO’s secretary general regarding the future of Greenland, “and in fact, the whole Arctic region,” Trump wrote on social media. He did not immediately provide details on the contents of the plan.
The whiplash of developments followed weeks of escalating threats from the president to control Greenland by any means necessary — including by force, if left with no other choice.
Now, “the military’s not on the table,” Trump told reporters at the economic forum in Switzerland, acknowledging sighs of relief throughout the room.
“I don’t think it will be necessary,” he said. “I really don’t. I think people are going to use better judgment.”
It was a turn of events that came as welcome news in Nuuk, where signs hang in storefronts and kitchen windows rejecting American imperialism.
“It’s difficult to say what are negotiating tactics, and what the foundation is for him saying all of this,” said Finn Meinel, an attorney born and raised in the Greenlandic capital. “It could be that joint pressure from the EU and NATO countries has made an impact, as well as the economic numbers in the states. Maybe that has had an influence.”
President Trump speaks during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday.
(Evan Vucci / Associated Press)
In his speech at Davos, Trump took note of the market turmoil his threats against Greenland had caused entering the conference. Announcing the agreement framework on social media Wednesday, he said he would pause punitive tariffs planned against longstanding European allies that had refused to support his demands.
Prominent world leaders — including from Canada, France and the United Kingdom, among Washington’s closest allies — had warned earlier this week that Trump’s militant threats against a fellow NATO member were ushering in a new era of global order accommodating a less reliable United States.
For years, Trump has called for U.S. ownership over Greenland due to its strategic position in the Arctic Circle, where ice melting due to climate change is making way for a new era of competition with Russia and China. An Arctic conflict, the president says, will require a robust U.S. presence there.
While the president rejects climate change and its perils as a hoax, he has embraced the opportunities that may come with the melting of Greenland’s ice sheet, the world’s largest after Antarctica, including the opening of new shipping lanes and defense positions.
The United States already enjoys broad freedom to deploy any defense assets it sees fit across the island, raising questions in Europe over Trump’s fixation on outright sovereignty over the land.
“We want a piece of ice for world protection, and they won’t give it. We’ve never asked for anything else,” Trump said, addressing members of the NATO alliance.
“I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force,” Trump said. But Europe still has a choice. “You can say yes, and we will be very appreciative,” he continued, “or you can say no, and we will remember.”
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The day before Trump’s speech, allies warned about a “rupture” in a global order in which the United States could be relied upon as a force of good. Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, in a speech Tuesday characterized Trump’s push to acquire Greenland as an example of why “the old order is not coming back.”
Trump apparently took note of Carney’s remarks, and told the crowd on Wednesday that Canada “should be grateful.”
“But they are not,” Trump said. “Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.”
The president struck a similar tone with his demands for Greenland, repeatedly characterizing the United States as a “great power” compared with Denmark in its ability to protect the Arctic territory. At one point, he cited the American military’s role in World War II to justify his demands, telling the eastern Swiss audience that, “without us, you’d all be speaking German, or a little Japanese perhaps.”
It was a slight carried forward by the president’s treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, who derided Copenhagen for its decision to divest from U.S. treasuries. “Denmark’s investment in U.S. treasury bonds like Denmark itself is irrelevant,” the secretary said.
In several instances, Trump framed the transatlantic alliance as one that benefits other countries more than the United States.
“We will be with NATO 100%, but I’m not sure they will be there for us,” Trump said. But NATO Secretary Gen. Mark Rutte responded to the concern in their meeting, noting that the alliance’s Article 5 commitment to joint defense has only been invoked once — by the United States, after the September 11th attacks. “Let me tell you: they will,” Rutte said.
But Trump expanded on his thinking over Greenland in his speech to the summit, describing his fixation on Greenland as “psychological,” and questioning why the United States would come to the island’s defense if its only investment was a licensing agreement.
“There’s no sign of Denmark there. And I say that with great respect for Denmark, whose people I love, whose leaders are very good,” Trump said. “It’s the United States alone that can protect this giant, massive land – this giant piece of ice – develop it, and improve it, and make it so that it’s good for Europe, and safe for Europe, and good for us.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom was among the people in the audience reacting to Trump’s remarks in real time. The president’s speech, he told CNN afterward, was “remarkably boring” and “remarkably insignificant.”
“He was never going invade Greenland. It was never real,” Newsom said. “That was always a fake.”
Wilner reported from Nuuk, Ceballos from Washington, D.C.
BERLIN/PARIS/, Jan 21 (Reuters) – European far-right and populist parties that once cheered on Donald Trump and gained in standing through his praise are now distancing themselves from the U.S. president over his military incursion into Venezuela and bid for Greenland.
The Trump administration has repeatedly backed far-right European parties that share a similar stance on issues from immigration to climate change, helping legitimize movements that have long faced stigma at home but are now on the rise.
The new U.S. National Security Strategy issued last month said “the growing influence of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism.”
But those parties now face a dilemma as disapproval of Trump rises across the continent over his increasingly aggressive foreign policy moves and in particular his efforts to acquire Greenland from Denmark.
GERMANY’S AFD BERATES TRUMP
“Donald Trump has violated a fundamental campaign promise — namely, not to interfere in other countries,” Alice Weidel of the far-right Alternative for Germany said, while party co-leader Tino Chrupalla rejected “Wild West methods”.
The AfD has been cultivating ties with Trump’s administration – but polls suggest this may no longer be beneficial. A survey by pollster Forsa released on Tuesday showed 71% of Germans see Trump more as an opponent than an ally.
Wariness of Trump has grown since he vowed on Saturday to slap tariffs on a raft of EU countries including Germany, France, Sweden and Britain, until the U.S. is allowed to buy Greenland.
Those countries had last week sent military personnel to the vast Arctic island at Denmark’s request.
National Rally leader Jordan Bardella said on Tuesday Europe must react, referring to “anti-coercion measures” and the suspension of the economic agreement signed last year between the EU and the United States.
British populist party Reform UK, whose leader Nigel Farage has long feted his close ties with Trump, said it was hard to tell if the president was bluffing.
“But to use economic threats against the country that’s been considered to be your closest ally for over a hundred years is not the kind of thing we would expect,” Reform said in a statement published on Jan. 19.
Blunter still was Mattias Karlsson, often cited as chief ideologist of the far-right Sweden Democrats.
“Trump is increasingly resembling a reversed King Midas,” he wrote on X. “Everything he touches turns to shit.”
Political scientist Johannes Hillje said it would always be hard for nationalists to forge a common foreign policy “because the national interests do not always converge.”
Not all European far-right and populist parties have been so critical. Some, like the far-right Dutch Party for Freedom and Spanish Vox, praised Trump for removing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro yet kept silent on his Greenland threats.
Others, such as Polish President Karol Nawrocki and the nationalist government of Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban have called for the issue of Greenland to be settled bilaterally between the United States and Denmark.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis posted a video on social networks on Tuesday in which he brandished a map and a globe to show how big Greenland was and how close it was to Russia if it were to send a missile.
“The U.S. has a long-term interest in Greenland, it is not just an initiative of Donald Trump now,” he said, calling for a diplomatic resolution.
MILD CRITICISM FROM MELONI
Italy’s right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who is seen as one of the closest European leaders to Trump, said his decision to slap tariffs on European allies was a “mistake”.
“I spoke to Donald Trump a few hours ago and told him what I think,” she said on Sunday, adding that she thought there was “a problem of understanding and communication” between Washington and Europe. She has not said anything since, but Italian media have said she is against slapping tariffs on the U.S. in response and is instead seeking to defuse the crisis with talks.
However, Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, the leader of the far-right League party, blamed the renewed trade tensions on the European nations who dispatched soldiers to Greenland.
“The eagerness to announce the dispatch of troops here and there is now bearing its bitter fruit,” he wrote on X.
(Reporting by Sarah Marsh and Andreas Rinke in Berlin, Crispian Balmer in Rome, Jesus Calero in Madrid, Bart Meijer in Amsterdam, Johan Ahlander in Stockholm, Alan Charlish in Warsaw, Jan Lopatka in Prague and Krisztina Than in Budapest, Elizabeth Piper in London and Elizabeth Pineau in Paris)
“We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in his speech at Davos on Monday. “Great powers have begun using economic integration as weapons, tariffs as leverage, financial infrastructure as coercion, supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited.”
“You cannot live within the lie of mutual benefit through integration, when integration becomes the source of your subordination,” Carney said, making a case for “middle powers” like Canada to work together to gain leverage against “great powers,” which he said have the luxury of going it alone.
“When we only negotiate bilaterally with a hegemon, we negotiate from weakness. We accept what’s offered. We compete with each other to be the most accommodating,” Carney said. “This is not sovereignty. It’s the performance of sovereignty while accepting subordination. In a world of great power rivalry, the countries in between have a choice — compete with each other for favor, or to combine to create a third path with impact.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney delivers a speech at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting held in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 20, 2026.
Harun Ozalp/Anadolu/Getty
He called other nations to join Canada to pursue shared values, supporting Ukraine, NATO, and Danish and Greenlandic sovereignty, and warned them to “stop invoking rules-based international order as though it still functions as advertised. Call it what it is — a system of intensifying great power rivalry, where the most powerful pursue their interests, using economic integration as coercion.”
“The powerful have their power,” Carney said. “But we have something too — the capacity to stop pretending, to name reality, to build our strength at home and to act together. That is Canada’s path. We choose it openly and confidently, and it is a path wide open to any country willing to take it with us.”
In a text exchange with Norway’s Prime Minister, President Donald Trump said Denmark’s sovereignty over Greenland is flimsy. But the U.S.’s own actions over the past 100 years say otherwise.
In Trump’s message, sent Jan. 18, he said, “Why (does Denmark) have a ‘right of ownership’ anyway? There are no written documents, it’s only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also.”
It’s inaccurate that there are no written documents establishing Denmark’s sovereignty over Greenland. Not only is Denmark’s sovereignty over Greenland well-established under international law, but the U.S. also has acknowledged it on several occasions, including in writing.
Denmark’s colonization of Greenland dates to the 1720s, and in 1933 an international court settled a territorial dispute between Denmark and Norway, ruling that Denmark “possessed a valid title to the sovereignty over all Greenland.”
Greenland’s status as a Danish colony ended in 1953 when the territory was incorporated by constitutional amendment and given representation in the Danish Parliament. As a member of the United Nations, the U.S. voted to accept this change.
Since then, the Greenlandic people have pushed for greater autonomy, such as achieving home rule in 1979 and creating a separate parliament. The territory is now a district within the sovereign state of Denmark, with full voting rights in the Danish parliament. A 2009 law established that the Greenlandic people have the power to pursue independence from Denmark if they choose. To date, they have not done so.
Under international law, Greenland is still part of Denmark, much as Ohio is part of the U.S., one expert told us.
The United States has acknowledged Denmark’s control over Greenland several times.
As part of a 1917 agreement with Denmark to buy the Danish West Indies — now known as the U.S. Virgin Islands — then-Secretary of State Robert Lansing issued a written declaration that the U.S. “will not object to the Danish Government extending their political and economic interests to the whole of Greenland.”
After taking responsibility — through written agreement — for Greenland’s defense in 1941, the U.S. established a military presence on the island. President Harry Truman tried to buy Greenland in 1946, but Denmark declined to sell.
The U.S. and Denmark signed another defense agreement in 1951 — and then updated and re-signed in 2004 — that affirms Greenland is “an equal part of the Kingdom of Denmark.”
Jan 20 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he had a “very good” telephone call with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte concerning Greenland.
Trump also said he had agreed to a meeting of various parties in Davos, Switzerland, at the World Economic Forum. He did not specify who the various parties were.
“As I expressed to everyone, very plainly, Greenland is imperative for National and World Security. There can be no going back – On that, everyone agrees!” he said in a post on Truth Social.
Trump had earlier told reporters the United States would talk about acquiring Greenland at this week’s World Economic Forum because Denmark cannot protect the territory.
(Reporting by Chandni Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Tom Hogue)
President Trump maintains that the U.S. needs Greenland for American and NATO security, but many defense experts point out that a 1951 treaty already allows the U.S. to keep a consistent military presence on the island. CBS News’ Lindsey Reiser explains.
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,” two European officials said Monday.Trump’s message to 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 NATO member Denmark. On Saturday, Trump announced a 10% 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. But British Prime Minister Keir Starmer sought to de-escalate tensions on Monday. While the White House has not ruled taking control of the strategic Arctic island by force, Starmer said he did not believe military action would occur.”I think this can be resolved and should be resolved through calm discussion,” he said.Still, the American leader’s message to Gahr Støre could further fracture a U.S.-European relationship already strained by differences over how to end the nearly four-year war in Ukraine, previous rounds of tariffs, military spending and migration policy.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 realize “this is about more than Greenland.”“I think a lot of countries are afraid that if they let Greenland go, what would be next?”Trump sends a message to the Norwegian leaderAccording to two European officials, Trump’s message to Gahr Støre read in part: “Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America.”It concluded: “The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland.”The officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said it had been forwarded to multiple European ambassadors in Washington. PBS first reported on the content of Trump’s note.U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended the president’s approach in Greenland during a brief Q&A with reporters in Davos, Switzerland, which is hosting the World Economic Forum meeting this week.“I think it’s a complete canard that the president would be doing this because of the Nobel,” Bessent said, immediately after saying he did not “know anything about the president’s letter to Norway.”Bessent insisted Trump “is looking at Greenland as a strategic asset for the United States,” adding that “we are not going to outsource our hemispheric security to anyone else.”The White House did not respond to questions about the message or the context for Trump sending it.Gahr Støre confirmed Monday that he had received a text message the day before from Trump but did not release its contents.The Norwegian leader said Trump’s message was a reply to an earlier missive sent on behalf of himself and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, in which they conveyed their opposition to the tariff announcement, pointed to a need to de-escalate, and proposed a telephone conversation among the three leaders.“Norway’s position on Greenland is clear. Greenland is a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and Norway fully supports the Kingdom of Denmark on this matter,” the Norwegian leader said in a statement. “As regards the Nobel Peace Prize, I have clearly explained, including to President Trump what is well known, the prize is awarded by an independent Nobel Committee and not the Norwegian Government.”He told TV2 Norway that he hadn’t responded to the message, but “I still believe it’s wise to talk,” and he hopes to talk with Trump in Davos this week.The Norwegian Nobel Committee is an independent body whose five members are appointed by the Norwegian Parliament.Trump has openly coveted the peace prize, which the committee awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado last year. Last week, Machado presented her Nobel medal to Trump, who said he planned to keep it though the committee said the prize can’t be revoked, transferred or shared with others.Starmer says a trade war is in no one’s interestIn his latest threat of tariffs, Trump indicated they would be retaliation for last week’s deployment of symbolic numbers of troops from the European countries to Greenland — though he also suggested that he was using the tariffs as leverage to negotiate with Denmark.European governments said that the troops traveled to the island to assess Arctic security, part of a response to Trump’s own concerns about interference from Russia and China.Starmer on Monday called Trump’s threat of tariffs “completely wrong” and said that a trade war is in no one’s interest.He added that “being pragmatic does not mean being passive and partnership does not mean abandoning principles.”Six of the eight countries targeted are part of the 27-member European Union, which operates as a single economic zone in terms of trade. European Council President Antonio Costa said Sunday that the bloc’s leaders expressed “readiness to defend ourselves against any form of coercion.” He announced a summit for Thursday evening.Starmer indicated that Britain, which is not part of the EU, is not planning to consider retaliatory tariffs.“My focus is on making sure we don’t get to that stage,” he said.Denmark’s defense minister and Greenland’s foreign minister are expected to meet NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in Brussels on Monday, a meeting that was planned before the latest escalation.___Associated Press writers Josh Boak in West Palm Beach, Florida; Emma Burrows in Nuuk, Greenland; and Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report.
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,” two European officials said Monday.
Trump’s message to 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 NATO member Denmark. On Saturday, Trump announced a 10% 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. But British Prime Minister Keir Starmer sought to de-escalate tensions on Monday. While the White House has not ruled taking control of the strategic Arctic island by force, Starmer said he did not believe military action would occur.
“I think this can be resolved and should be resolved through calm discussion,” he said.
Still, the American leader’s message to Gahr Støre could further fracture a U.S.-European relationship already strained by differences over how to end the nearly four-year war in Ukraine, previous rounds of tariffs, military spending and migration policy.
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 realize “this is about more than Greenland.”
“I think a lot of countries are afraid that if they let Greenland go, what would be next?”
Trump sends a message to the Norwegian leader
According to two European officials, Trump’s message to Gahr Støre read in part: “Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America.”
It concluded: “The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland.”
The officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said it had been forwarded to multiple European ambassadors in Washington. PBS first reported on the content of Trump’s note.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended the president’s approach in Greenland during a brief Q&A with reporters in Davos, Switzerland, which is hosting the World Economic Forum meeting this week.
“I think it’s a complete canard that the president would be doing this because of the Nobel,” Bessent said, immediately after saying he did not “know anything about the president’s letter to Norway.”
Bessent insisted Trump “is looking at Greenland as a strategic asset for the United States,” adding that “we are not going to outsource our hemispheric security to anyone else.”
The White House did not respond to questions about the message or the context for Trump sending it.
Gahr Støre confirmed Monday that he had received a text message the day before from Trump but did not release its contents.
The Norwegian leader said Trump’s message was a reply to an earlier missive sent on behalf of himself and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, in which they conveyed their opposition to the tariff announcement, pointed to a need to de-escalate, and proposed a telephone conversation among the three leaders.
“Norway’s position on Greenland is clear. Greenland is a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and Norway fully supports the Kingdom of Denmark on this matter,” the Norwegian leader said in a statement. “As regards the Nobel Peace Prize, I have clearly explained, including to President Trump what is well known, the prize is awarded by an independent Nobel Committee and not the Norwegian Government.”
He told TV2 Norway that he hadn’t responded to the message, but “I still believe it’s wise to talk,” and he hopes to talk with Trump in Davos this week.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee is an independent body whose five members are appointed by the Norwegian Parliament.
Trump has openly coveted the peace prize, which the committee awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado last year. Last week, Machado presented her Nobel medal to Trump, who said he planned to keep it though the committee said the prize can’t be revoked, transferred or shared with others.
Starmer says a trade war is in no one’s interest
In his latest threat of tariffs, Trump indicated they would be retaliation for last week’s deployment of symbolic numbers of troops from the European countries to Greenland — though he also suggested that he was using the tariffs as leverage to negotiate with Denmark.
European governments said that the troops traveled to the island to assess Arctic security, part of a response to Trump’s own concerns about interference from Russia and China.
Starmer on Monday called Trump’s threat of tariffs “completely wrong” and said that a trade war is in no one’s interest.
He added that “being pragmatic does not mean being passive and partnership does not mean abandoning principles.”
Six of the eight countries targeted are part of the 27-member European Union, which operates as a single economic zone in terms of trade. European Council President Antonio Costa said Sunday that the bloc’s leaders expressed “readiness to defend ourselves against any form of coercion.” He announced a summit for Thursday evening.
Starmer indicated that Britain, which is not part of the EU, is not planning to consider retaliatory tariffs.
“My focus is on making sure we don’t get to that stage,” he said.
Denmark’s defense minister and Greenland’s foreign minister are expected to meet NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in Brussels on Monday, a meeting that was planned before the latest escalation.
___
Associated Press writers Josh Boak in West Palm Beach, Florida; Emma Burrows in Nuuk, Greenland; and Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report.
America’s European allies stood united Monday against President Trump’s escalating campaign to take control of Greenland, accusing him of blackmail with a new threat of tariffs if they continue rejecting his bid for the U.S. to acquire the vast island. Mr. Trump, meanwhile, appeared to hint that he was still willing to use the U.S. military to achieve his objective.
In a message sent to Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and shared with other NATO allies, Mr. Trump said that due to the decision to award someone other than himself the Nobel Peace Prize this year, he no longer feels “an obligation to think purely of Peace,”and that he “can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America.”
In the next sentence, Mr. Trump refers to his controversial demand that the U.S. take ownership of Greenland, which has been a territory of American ally Denmark for centuries. He renews his claim that only full U.S. control can prevent the strategic Arctic island from falling into the hands of China or Russia.
Trump’s claims about Greenland and U.S. security
America’s closest allies in NATO have rejected Mr. Trump’s argument, along with U.S. lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, that the U.S. needs to own Greenland for security reasons.
Getty/iStockphoto
They note that Greenland already falls under the transatlantic alliance’s protection as a Danish territory, that the U.S. has had at least one military base on the island since World War II and Denmark has given an open invitation for Washington to boost that defense presence in partnership with its allies.
Despite those facts, and efforts by Denmark and other European NATO members to show an understanding of and willingness to address rising competition over control of vital new shipping lanes around the resource-rich island, Mr. Trump claims again in his message to Norway’s leader that “the World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland.”
He argues that Denmark is incapable of securing the Arctic territory in the face of Russian and Chinese threats — threats that Senator Mark Warner, the Democratic vice chairman of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, called fictitious over the weekend.
“Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China,” Mr. Trump wrote, ignoring the fact that, for almost 80 years, since the U.S. and its European allies committed to the principle of joint security with NATO’s founding treaty, Greenland’s protection has been a shared responsibility.
Mr. Trump questions in the note, as he’s done previously, Denmark’s right to any claim over Greenland, arguing that the basis is only that “a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also.”
Denmark became the colonial power in Greenland in the early 18th century, about 50 years before the United States became a sovereign nation with its own navy. Greenland remained a Danish colony until 1953, when the island gained its current semi-autonomy.
Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen waves a flag during a protest against President Trump’s demand that the Arctic island be ceded to the U.S., in Nuuk, Greenland, Jan. 17, 2026.
Marko Djurica/REUTERS
Though the population is tiny at around 60,000 people, Greenland has its own elected government, and both the island’s leaders and the Greenlandic people have made it abundantly clear that they do not want to become part of the U.S.
Norway’s leader responds to Trump’s message
The Norwegian government shared a statement on Monday from Prime Minister Støre in which he confirms that he received Mr. Trump’s message on Sunday afternoon.
He said it came in response to a text message he’d sent along with Finland’s President Alexander Stubb.
“In our message to Trump we conveyed our opposition to his announced tariff increases against Norway, Finland and select other countries. We pointed to the need to de-escalate and proposed a telephone conversation between Trump, Stubb and myself on the same day. The response from Trump came shortly after the message was sent,” Støre said in the statement, adding that it was Mr. Trump’s “decision to share his message with other NATO leaders.”
NATO leaders attend the North Atlantic Council plenary meeting at a summit in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 25, 2025.
LUDOVIC MARIN/POOL/AFP/Getty
“Norway’s position on Greenland is clear. Greenland is a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and Norway fully supports the Kingdom of Denmark on this matter. We also support that NATO in a responsible way is taking steps to strengthen security and stability in the Arctic,” said Støre.
He added, “As regards the Nobel Peace Prize, I have clearly explained, including to President Trump what is well known, the prize is awarded by an independent Nobel Committee and not the Norwegian Government.”
U.K. leader doubts Trump will use U.S. military to take Greenland
Mr. Trump stunned America’s NATO allies over the weekend by threatening to impose new tariffs on Denmark and seven other European nations if they continue to reject his demands to take over Greenland.
After holding talks among themselves on Sunday, the eight countries issued a joint statement saying they were “committed to strengthening Arctic security as a shared transatlantic interest,” while reiterating their support for Denmark and Greenland.
They said they were “ready to engage in a dialogue based on the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that we stand firmly behind,” and warned that threats of tariffs undermine “transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has maintained good relations with Mr. Trump and spoke with him on the phone Sunday, acknowledged in televised remarks on Monday morning that the Arctic region “will require greater attention, greater investment and stronger collective defense” and said the U.S. would “be central to that effort and the U.K. stands ready to contribute fully alongside our allies, through NATO.”
U.K. Prime Minster Keir Starmer is seen during a news conference in London, England, Jan. 19, 2026.
Tolga Akmen/EPA/Bloomberg/Getty
“But there is a principle here that cannot be set aside, because it goes to the heart of how stable and trusted international cooperation works, and so any decision about the future status of Greenland belongs to the people of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark alone,” said Starmer.
“Denmark is a close ally of the U.K. and of the U.S. — a proud NATO member that has stood shoulder to shoulder with us, including at real human cost in recent decades,” Starmer said, alluding to Danish troops fighting alongside U.S. and British forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, as part of the NATO alliance.
“Alliances endure because they’re built on respect and partnership, not pressure. That is why I said the use of tariffs against allies is completely wrong. It is not the right way to resolve differences within an alliance, nor is it helpful to frame efforts to strengthen Greenland’s security as a justification for economic pressure,” he said. “A trade war is in no one’s interest.”
As for Mr. Trump not ruling out the use of the American military to seize territory from a NATO ally, Starmer said he didn’t believe it would come to that.
“I don’t, actually,” he said. “I think this can and should be resolved through calm discussion, but with the application of principles I’ve set out in terms of who decides the future of Greenland.”
European leaders denounce Trump’s tariff threat over Greenland – CBS News
Watch CBS News
European countries held an emergency meeting in Brussels Sunday in response to President Trump’s post threatening tariffs against countries that have sent military forces into Greenland amid his push to annex the Arctic island. Leigh Kiniry reports.
Europeans were reeling Sunday from President Trump’s announcement that eight countries will face a 10% tariff for opposing American control of Greenland.
The responses to Mr. Trump’s decision ranged from saying it risked “a dangerous downward spiral” to predicting that “China and Russia must be having a field day.”
Mr. Trump’s threat sets up a potentially dangerous test of U.S. partnerships in Europe. Several European countries have sent troops to Greenland in recent days, saying they are there for Arctic security training. Mr. Trump’s announcement came Saturday as thousands of Greenlanders were wrapping up a protest outside the U.S. Consulate in the capital, Nuuk.
The Republican president appeared to indicate that he was using the tariffs as leverage to force talks with Denmark and other European countries over the status of Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark that he regards as critical to U.S. national security. Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland would face the tariff.
The eight countries issued a joint statement Sunday: “As members of NATO, we are committed to strengthening Arctic security as a shared transatlantic interest. The pre-coordinated Danish exercise ‘Arctic Endurance,’ conducted with Allies, responds to this necessity. It poses no threat to anyone.”
The statement added: “We stand in full solidarity with the Kingdom of Denmark and the people of Greenland. Building on the process begun last week, we stand ready to engage in a dialogue based on the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that we stand firmly behind. Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral. We will continue to stand united and coordinated in our response. We are committed to upholding our sovereignty.”
Protesters wave Greenland flags during a demonstration at City Hall Square in Copenhagen on Jan. 17, 2026.
Kristian Tuxen Ladegaard Berg/NurPhoto via Getty Images
There are immediate questions about how the White House could try to implement the tariffs, because the EU is a single economic zone in terms of trading. Norway and the U.K. are not part of the 27-member EU, and it was not immediately clear if Mr. Trump’s tariffs would impact the entire bloc. EU envoys scheduled emergency talks for Sunday evening to determine a potential response.
It was unclear, too, how Mr. Trump could act under U.S. law, though he could cite emergency economic powers that are currently subject to a Supreme Court challenge.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said China and Russia will benefit from the divisions between the U.S. and Europe. She added in a post on social media: “If Greenland’s security is at risk, we can address this inside NATO. Tariffs risk making Europe and the United States poorer and undermine our shared prosperity.”
Mr. Trump’s move also was panned domestically.
Sen. Mark Kelly, a former U.S. Navy pilot and Democrat who represents Arizona, posted that Mr. Trump’s threatened tariffs on U.S. allies would make Americans “pay more to try to get territory we don’t need.”
“Troops from European countries are arriving in Greenland to defend the territory from us. Let that sink in,” he wrote on X. “The damage this President is doing to our reputation and our relationships is growing, making us less safe. If something doesn’t change we will be on our own with adversaries and enemies in every direction.”
A CBS News poll released Sunday found widespread opposition among Americans to buying Greenland or taking it by military force. Seventy percent said they would oppose using federal funds to buy the territory, and 86% said they would oppose seizing it militarily.
The tariffs announcement even drew blowback from Mr. Trump’s populist allies in Europe.
Italy’s right-wing Premier Giorgia Meloni, considered one of Mr. Trump’s closest allies on the continent, said Sunday she had spoken to him about the tariffs, which she described as “a mistake.”
The deployment to Greenland of small numbers of troops by some European countries was misunderstood by Washington, Meloni told reporters during a two-day visit to South Korea. She said the deployment was not a move against the U.S. but aimed to provide security against “other actors” that she didn’t name.
Jordan Bardella, president of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party in France and also a European Parliament lawmaker, posted that the EU should suspend last year’s tariff deal with the U.S., describing Mr. Trump’s threats as “commercial blackmail.”
Mr. Trump also achieved the rare feat of uniting Britain’s main political parties — including the hard-right Reform UK party — all of whom criticized the tariff threat.
“We don’t always agree with the U.S. government and in this case we certainly don’t. These tariffs will hurt us,” Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, a longtime champion and ally of Mr. Trump, wrote on social media. He stopped short of criticizing Mr. Trump’s designs on Greenland.
Meanwhile, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who leads the center-left Labour Party, said the tariffs announcement was “completely wrong” and his government would “be pursuing this directly with the U.S. administration.”
The foreign ministers of Denmark and Norway are also expected to address the crisis Sunday in Oslo during a news conference.
LONDON, Jan 18 (Reuters) – Global markets face a fresh bout of volatility this week after President Donald Trump vowed to slap tariffs on eight European nations until the U.S. is allowed to buy Greenland.
Trump said he would impose an additional 10% import tariffs from February 1 on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Britain, which will rise to 25% on June 1 if no deal is reached.
“Hopes that the tariff situation has calmed down for this year have been dashed for now – and we find ourselves in the same situation as last spring,” said Berenberg chief economist Holger Schmieding.
Sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs in April 2025 sent shockwaves through financial markets. Investors then largely looked past Trump trade threats in the second half of the year, viewing them as noise and responding with relief as Trump made deals with the likes of Britain and the European Union.
While that lull might be over, market moves on Monday could be dampened by the experience that investor sentiment had been more resilient and global economic growth stayed on track.
Nonetheless, Schmieding expected the euro could come under some pressure when Asian trade begins. The euro ended Friday at around $1.16 against the dollar, having hit its lowest levels since late November.
Implications for the dollar were less clear. It remains a safe haven, but could also feel the impact of Washington being at the centre of geopolitical ruptures, as it did last April.
“For European markets it will be a small setback, but not something comparable to the Liberation Day reaction,” Schmieding said.
European stocks are trading near record highs, with Germany’s DAX and London’s blue-chip FTSE index up more than 3% since the start of the year, outperforming the S&P 500, which is up 1.3%.
European defence shares are likely to remain an outlier – benefiting from increased geopolitical tensions. Defence stocks have jumped almost 15% this month, as the U.S. seizure of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro fuelled concerns about Greenland.
Denmark’s closely managed crown will also likely be in focus. It has been weakening, but rate differentials are a major factor and it is still close to the central rate at which it is pegged to the euro. It is trading not far from six-year lows against the euro.
“The U.S.-EU trade war is back on,” said Tina Fordham, geopolitical strategist and founder of Fordham Global Foresight.
Trump’s latest move came as top officials from the EU and South American bloc Mercosur signed a free trade agreement.
‘UNTHINKABLE SORTS OF DEVELOPMENTS’
The dispute over Greenland is just one hot spot.
Trump has also weighed intervening in unrest in Iran, while the U.S. administration’s threat to indict Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has reignited concerns about its independence.
Against this backdrop, safe-haven gold remains near record highs.
The World Economic Forum’s annual risk perception survey, released ahead of its annual meeting in Davos, which will be attended by Trump, identified economic confrontation between nations as the number one concern replacing armed conflict.
While investors have grown increasingly wary of geopolitical risk, they have also become used to it to some extent.
“Investor sentiment has proven quite resilient in the face of the sort of continuing unthinkable sorts of developments, which probably reflects a combination of like faith that Trump just won’t be able to do all of the things that he talks about mixed with a sense that none of this kind of moves the needle on asset prices,” said Fordham.
(Reporting by Karin Strohecker and Dhara Ranasinghe ; Editing by Alexander Smith)
