Trump rules out using force to take over Greenland, calls for negotiations

The US president utilized his code astatine Davos to telephone for talks implicit his demands to annex Greenland.

United States President Donald Trump has ruled retired utilizing unit to instrumentality power of Greenland, but called for talks connected his demands to instrumentality implicit the island.

In a highly anticipated code astatine the World Economic Forum successful Davos, Switzerland connected Wednesday, Trump insisted that the annexation of the autonomous Danish territory is important to US nationalist security, contempt wide rejection of his demands from Greenlanders and European leaders.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 3‘You’ll find out’: Trump speaks connected Greenland’s destiny and the aboriginal of NATO
• list 2 of 3US allies unite against Trump’s threats to instrumentality implicit Greenland astatine Davos
• list 3 of 3US, Russia envoys conscionable successful Davos arsenic Ukraine reconstruction program postponed

“People thought I would usage force. I don’t person to usage force. I don’t privation to usage force. I won’t usage force,” helium said.

The US president said helium was “seeking contiguous negotiations to erstwhile again sermon the acquisition of Greenland by the United States”, adding that Denmark had to marque a “choice”.

“You tin accidental ‘yes’, and we volition beryllium precise appreciative. Or you tin accidental ‘no’, and we volition remember. A beardown and unafraid America means a beardown NATO.”

Trump claimed that the US unsocial is capable to “protect this elephantine wide of land, this elephantine portion of ice”, referring to the Arctic island.

On respective occasions during his much than an hour-long speech, Trump appeared to mistakenly notation to Greenland arsenic Iceland.

Christine Nissen, main expert astatine the Europa deliberation tank, told Al Jazeera that Trump’s assertion that helium would not usage unit could beryllium seen by Denmark arsenic a imaginable de-escalation.

“We person seen however European countries and Denmark, arsenic such, are changing their strategies towards Trump implicit the Greenland issue. We’ve had a precise cautious Europe and Denmark fixed our precise heavy and structural dependence connected the US, but present we spot a alteration successful strategy,” Nissen said.

She added that the rift betwixt Europe and the US implicit Greenland had led to a “fairly agreed Europe, but lone clip volition archer whether that volition hold.”

European leaders, including the UK, France and Denmark, person remained agreed successful defending Greenland’s status, contempt Trump’s earlier threats that helium could enforce tariffs connected European countries implicit the dispute.