US President Donald Trump has linked his repeated threats to seize Greenland to his failure to win the Nobel Peace Prize, escalating transatlantic tensions over the Arctic island and risking a trade war with the European Union. In a text message to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre on Sunday, Trump wrote that after being snubbed for the prize, he no longer felt obliged to think 'purely of peace'.
Trump's message stated: '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.' He added that the US needed 'complete and total control' of Greenland, a largely self-governing part of Denmark. Trump has recently intensified his push for the island, saying the US would take control 'one way or the other'.
On Saturday, Trump threatened to impose tariffs starting at 10% from 1 February, rising to 25%, on imports from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Finland unless they dropped objections to his plan. The dispute has thrown EU-US trade relations into chaos, with the bloc considering retaliatory measures, and risks unravelling the Nato alliance.
Trump has refused to rule out military force to seize Greenland, despite the US already having a military base there and a bilateral agreement with Denmark allowing expansion. In an NBC interview on Monday, he insisted he would '100%' push ahead with tariff plans and blamed Norway for denying him the Nobel prize. The Nobel peace prize is awarded by the Norwegian Nobel committee, an independent body.
Denmark's defence minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, said he and Greenland's foreign minister had discussed a possible Nato mission in Greenland with Secretary General Mark Rutte. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen stressed the importance of upholding international law, while Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the territory would not be pressured. EU leaders will meet for an emergency summit on Thursday to discuss their response, which may include tariffs on €93bn of US imports or the bloc's anti-coercion instrument.
