Trump Escalates Greenland Push Over "Russian Threat"
In a Truth Social post Sunday, Trump claimed that "NATO has been telling Denmark, for 20 years, that 'you have to get the Russian threat away from Greenland.' Unfortunately, Denmark has been unable to do anything about it. Now it is time, and it will be done!!!"
The declaration came after discussions with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who verified Saturday he had engaged with Trump "regarding the security situation in Greenland and the Arctic." While Rutte declined to elaborate on conversation specifics, he confirmed both parties would maintain collaboration on the matter.
Days earlier, Trump unveiled 10% tariffs targeting eight European NATO members—Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and Finland—for resisting his Greenland acquisition efforts and deploying minimal military forces to the territory. He announced the levies, launching February 1, would escalate to 25% by June absent a "complete and total purchase."
European authorities have denounced the coercion as "blackmail" and an attack on territorial integrity. Through a unified declaration, the eight affected countries characterized the tariff warnings as attempts to "undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral." The EU is assembling a counter-trade response while declaring its "full solidarity" with Denmark.
Trump has persistently characterized securing Greenland—spanning 2.17 million square kilometers with roughly 57,000 residents—as a vital national security priority to counter Russia and China in Arctic zones, assertions officials in Copenhagen, Beijing, and Moscow have uniformly rejected as unfounded.
Russia, which maintains substantial Arctic infrastructure but sits thousands of kilometers from Greenland, has labeled circumstances surrounding Trump's annexation proposals "extraordinary" while acknowledging the island as Danish sovereign land.
Simultaneously, Moscow has criticized NATO's accelerated Arctic militarization, cautioning that maneuvers disregarding Russia's regional interests would yield "negative consequences."
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