US President Donald Trump links his aggression Position on Greenland Two European officials said on Monday that they decided not to award him the Nobel Peace Prize last year, telling Norway’s prime minister that he no longer felt “obligated to think purely about peace.”
Trump’s message to Jonas Gall Storr appeared to exacerbate a standoff between Washington and its closest allies as he threatened to take over Greenland, the autonomous territory of NATO member Denmark. Saturday, Trump Announcing the imposition of 10% import tax Starting in February, cargoes from eight countries, including Norway, were clustered around Denmark and Greenland.
These countries have issued severely rebuke. But Prime Minister Keir Starmer sought to ease tensions on Monday. While the White House has not yet ruled on taking control of the strategic Arctic island by force, Starmer said he did not expect military action to occur.
“I think this issue is solvable and should be resolved through calm discussion,” he said.
Still, the U.S. leader’s message to Gard Stoll could U.S.-Europe relations further breakdown Tensions have already been strained by disagreements over how to end the nearly four-year war in Ukraine, previous rounds of tariffs, military spending and immigration policy.
This shows that tensions have increased in recent days, Thousands of Greenlanders Marches were held over the weekend to protest against any occupation of their island. Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen said in a Facebook post on Monday that the threat of tariffs would not change their stance.
“We will not be pressured,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, Greenland’s Minister of Commerce, Mines, Energy, Justice and Equality Naaja Nathanielsen told The Associated Press that she was moved by the allies’ quick response to the tariff threat, saying it showed countries realized “this is not just about Greenland.”
“I think a lot of countries are worried about, if they abandon Greenland, what’s going to happen next?”
Trump sends message to Norwegian leader
According to two European officials, Trump’s message to Gal Storr read in part: “Given your country’s decision not to award me the Nobel Peace Prize for preventing eight wars, I no longer feel obligated to think purely about peace, although it will always be the dominant one, but now to consider what is good and right for the United States of America.”
The report concluded: “Unless we have complete control of Greenland, the world is not safe.”
The information has been forwarded to several European ambassadors in Washington, said the officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The American Public Broadcasting Corporation (PBS) first reported the contents of Trump’s note.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant defended the president’s approach to Greenland during a brief question and answer session with reporters in Davos, Switzerland, which hosts the World Economic Forum meeting this week.
“I think it’s a complete rumor that the president did this to win the Nobel Prize,” Bessant said immediately after saying he had “no knowledge of anything” about the president’s letter to Norway.
Bessant insisted that Trump “is treating Greenland as a strategic asset of the United States,” adding that “we will not outsource the security of our Western Hemisphere to anyone else.”
The White House did not respond to questions about the message or the context in which Trump sent it.
Gal Stoll confirmed on Monday that he had received a text message from Trump the day before but did not release the content.
The Norwegian leader said Trump’s message was a reply to an earlier letter sent on behalf of himself and Finnish President Alexander Stuab, in which they expressed opposition to the tariff announcement, noted the need to de-escalate the situation and proposed a phone conversation between the three leaders.
“Norway’s position on Greenland is clear. Greenland is 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 for the Nobel Peace Prize, I have clearly explained to President Trump that, as we all know, the award is awarded by the independent Nobel Committee, not the Norwegian government.”
He told Norwegian television that he did not respond to the message but “I still believe it is wise to talk” and that he hoped to speak with Trump in Davos this week.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee is an independent body whose five members are appointed by the Norwegian Parliament.
Trump openly covets the Peace Prize, committee awarded Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said last year. Last week, Machado awarded her nobel medal to Trump, who said he plans to keep it despite committee saying the award Cannot be revoked, transferred or shared with other people.
Starmer says trade war is in no one’s interest
In his latest tariff threat, Trump said they would retaliate against tariffs deployed symbolically last week. Troops from European countries Greenland – although he also said he was using tariffs as leverage in negotiations with Denmark.
European governments said the troops were heading to the island to assess Arctic security, part of a response to Trump’s own concerns On Russian and Chinese interference.
Starmer on Monday called Trump’s tariff threats “completely wrong” and said a trade war was in no one’s interests.
“Pragmatism does not mean negativity, and partnership does not mean abandoning principles,” he added.
Six of the eight target countries are part of the 27-member EU, which operates as a single economic area in terms of trade. European Council President Antonio Costa said on Sunday that EU leaders expressed “readiness to defend themselves against any form of coercion”. He announced that the summit would take place on Thursday evening.
Starmer said that the UK is not a member of the EU and does not intend to consider retaliatory tariffs.
“My focus is on making sure we don’t get to that stage,” he said.
The Danish defense minister and Greenlandic foreign minister are expected to meet NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in Brussels on Monday, a meeting planned ahead of the latest escalation.
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Associated Press writers Josh Boak in West Palm Beach, Florida; Emma Burrows in Nuuk, Greenland; and Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report.