Donald Trump issues fresh ultimatum as he demands control over Greenland at Nato summit
Donald Trump has issued a new threat amid renewed demands to take control of Greenland.
The US President spoke at the NATO summit in Ankara to chastise his allies for refusing to support his plan to annex the Danish territory.
Trump, who has frequently criticised NATO, said on Tuesday that Greenland was a vital part of his country’s security because it was surrounded by Chinese and Russian ships, insisting that the Arctic island ‘should be controlled by the United States’.
He continued: “That’s what hurt my relationship with NATO, because Greenland doesn’t help Denmark.
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“Denmark doesn’t spend money to really help Greenland, but it’s an important part for the United States and it’s surrounded by China ships and Russian ships and that’s not going to happen.”
Trump warned that in order to make his plan happen he could reconsider the US military presence in Europe, claiming his country had spent massive sums supporting its allies while getting little in return for their efforts.
However authorities in Greenland and Denmark have rejected Trump’s threats.
In January, Keir Starmer held a press conference where he stressed the UK supported Greenland's right to determine its own future and said he was not interested in getting into a trade war by retaliating against US tariffs.
At the press conference at the summit, Trump suggested American troops could be pulled from bases across Europe, ‘Because, as you probably noticed, Europe’s a very different place than it was 20 years ago’.
He went on: “[It’s] a lot different, much different, much different, and they better be careful with immigration and energy. If they're not careful with those two things, you're not going to have a Europe anymore.”
President Trump also met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday and said the US would lift sanctions on Turkey.
During the meeting at the presidential palace in Ankara, Trump said: "We're going to be taking the sanctions off, okay?" He added that Cabinet officials were already working on the move. Earlier, he also said selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey was "certainly something we will consider."
Greenland is just one of several issues causing tension between the US and its NATO allies.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth also announced a review of US military forces in Europe, questioning whether some allies are meeting their defence spending commitments.
Relations have been further strained by what Trump sees as a lack of support from some countries during the conflict with Iran. These disagreements have raised fresh questions about America's commitment to the NATO alliance, which Trump has previously dismissed as ‘a paper tiger.’
Topics: Donald Trump, US News, Greenland
Greg Harris