Trump touts ‘total access’ Greenland deal as NATO asks allies to step up

DAVOS – US President Donald Trump on Jan 22 said he had secured total and permanent US access to Greenland in a deal with NATO, whose head said allies would have to step up their commitment to Arctic security to ward off threats from Russia and China.

News of a framework deal came as Mr Trump backed off tariff threats and ruled out taking Greenland by force, bringing a degree of respite in what was brewing to be the biggest rupture in transatlantic ties in decades.

But the details of any agreement were unclear, and Denmark insisted its sovereignty over the island was not up for discussion. Denmark’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Mr Trump’s latest remarks.

Mr Trump’s U-turn triggered a rebound in European markets but also raised questions about how much damage had already been done to transatlantic ties and business confidence.

Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen welcomed Mr Trump’s comments but said he was still in the dark on many aspects.

“I don’t know what there is in the agreement, or the deal, about my country,” he told reporters in the capital Nuuk.

“We are ready to discuss a lot of things and we are ready to negotiate a better partnership and so on. But sovereignty is a red line,” he said, when asked about reports that Mr Trump was seeking control of areas around US military bases in Greenland as part of a wider deal.

“We cannot cross the red lines. We have to respect our territorial integrity. We have to respect international law and sovereignty.”

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on his return from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mr Trump said a new deal was being negotiated that would be “much more generous to the United States, so much more generous”.

He skirted questions on sovereignty, but said: “We have to have the ability to do exactly what we want to do.”

Earlier, Mr Trump told Fox Business Network the deal would essentially bring “total access” for the United States.

“There’s no end, there’s no time limit.”

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told Reuters in an interview in Davos that it was now up to the organisation’s senior commanders to work through the details of extra security requirements.

“I have no doubt we can do this quite fast. Certainly, I would hope for 2026, I hope even early in 2026,” he said.

Denmark says situation remains difficult

Mr Trump’s ambition to wrest sovereignty over Greenland from fellow NATO member Denmark has threatened to blow apart the alliance that underpinned Western security since the end of World War II, and reignite a trade war with Europe.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said no negotiations had been held with NATO regarding the sovereignty of Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark.

“It is still a difficult and serious situation, but progress has also been made in the sense that we have now got things where they need to be. Namely that we can discuss how we promote common security in the Arctic region,” Ms Frederiksen said.

After meeting Mr Rutte, Mr Trump had earlier said there could be a deal that satisfies his desire for a missile-defence system and access to critical minerals while blocking what he says are Russia’s and China’s ambitions in the Arctic. Mr Rutte said minerals exploitation was not discussed during his meeting with Mr Trump, adding that specific negotiations on the Arctic island would continue between the United States, Denmark and Greenland itself.

A 1951 agreement between the United States and Denmark established the US right to construct military bases in Greenland and move around freely in Greenlandic territory. This is still the case as long as Denmark and Greenland are informed of its actions.

Worries on future of transatlantic ties

But diplomats told Reuters that EU leaders will rethink relations with the US as the Greenland episode has badly shaken confidence in the transatlantic relationship.

EU governments remain wary of another change of mind from the US President, who is increasingly seen as a bully Europe will have to stand up to.

“Trump crossed the Rubicon. He might do it again. There is no coming back to what it was. And leaders will discuss it,” one EU diplomat said, adding the EU needed to find an alternative to its dependence on the United States in many areas.

There were also mixed feelings among some residents in the Greenland capital, Nuuk.

“I’m very thrilled to hear that, first of all, because he has been saying a lot of stuff about taking Greenland with force, like he’ll do it the hard way, which is so scary to hear,” said Ms Ivi Luna Olsen, a tour guide.

“But I’m also like keeping my hopes down and still, like, hoping for the best and preparing for the worst because sometimes he can be saying a lot of stuff.”

Sweden says Europe getting used to US rhetoric

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told a press conference that Sweden wants to be part of an increasing allied military presence in Greenland and the Arctic.

“This new rhetoric from the US, we are starting to get used to it, but we also have to speak out when we think it is completely unreasonable, and I think we and other European countries did that, and I think it had an effect,” he said.

Addressing the issue for the first time in public, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Greenland’s ownership was not Moscow’s concern, while China’s Foreign Ministry said on Jan 22 that “the so-called China threat” to Greenland was groundless.

Mr Trump’s push to seize Greenland had threatened to renew trade tensions with Europe, and some business groups remain wary.

“What President Trump announces today may be obsolete tomorrow,” said Mr Dirk Jandura, president of Germany’s wholesale and export association BGA.

“The ongoing unpredictability is causing lasting damage to confidence in trade relations and remains a serious risk to the global economy.” REUTERS