US President Donald Trump continued to exert pressure on the Greenland issue, claiming via Truth Social that Denmark has done "nothing" for "20 years" to remove the "Russian threat" from the island, which is an autonomous region of the kingdom, and adding "now is the time," and "it will be done," adding three exclamation points.
The Republican tycoon has reiterated since returning to the White House in January 2025 that he will not settle for anything less than "ownership" of Greenland, despite authorities in both Denmark and Greenland objecting that the vast Arctic island is not for sale and its residents have no intention of their place becoming part of the United States.
Meanwhile, Washington sent a new message to Europeans on Sunday that it does not intend to back down on the Greenland issue, through US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant, who stressed that the Old Continent is "too weak" to ensure the security of the Arctic island.
Bessant largely downplayed the European Union's threats to "freeze" the trade deal on tariffs reached between Donald Trump and the bloc last year, telling NBC News that the US president is using strategic pressure to get what he wants.
“First of all, the trade deal is not finalized, and an emergency action could be very different from another trade deal,” Bessett said Sunday in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Trump is “using his emergency powers to do this,” he added.
Trump announced on Saturday an additional 10% tariff on imports of goods from eight European countries from February 1, which will increase to 25% in June unless there is an agreement to "buy Greenland," as he said.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who called the tariff "unacceptable," intends to ask the EU to activate its most powerful retaliatory tool, the EU's Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI), also known as the European "bazooka."
Bessett justified Trump's attempt to take control of Greenland by citing global competition in the Arctic, the US president's plans to deploy the "Golden Dome" missile shield, and Europe's past dependence on Russian energy, which - as he said - "funded Russia's efforts against Ukraine."
Asked whether Trump's stance towards Europe is a negotiating tactic, Bessant implied that the US president is not going to change his mind.
Source: skai.gr
