US President Donald Trump has declared that global security depends on Washington having “complete and total control” of Greenland, saying he no longer feels obliged to think “purely of peace” after being overlooked for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Trump’s remarks, published on Monday, escalated tensions between the United States and its European allies, following renewed threats to take over the vast Arctic territory, which is an autonomous region under Denmark.
According to the AFP, the comments have triggered sharp reactions across Europe, with leaders accusing Washington of blackmail and preparing possible trade retaliation.
In a message sent to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and made public on Monday, Trump insisted that the world “is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland.” In the same message, whose authenticity was confirmed by Støre’s office, the US president said he no longer felt bound to pursue peace as a primary objective.
“I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace,” Trump said, referring to his failure to win last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, which he has long coveted. While noting that peace would remain “predominant,” he added that he could now focus on what he described as what was “good and proper for the United States of America.”
Støre said the message came in response to a communication he sent jointly with Finnish President Alexander Stubb, in which they conveyed their opposition to Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on countries resisting his Greenland plans. He also stressed that the Nobel Peace Prize is not awarded by the Norwegian government.
“I have clearly explained, including to President Trump, what is well known — the prize is awarded by an independent Nobel Committee,” Støre said in a written statement.
Trump has repeatedly justified his interest in Greenland on national security grounds, arguing that Denmark cannot adequately defend the mineral-rich island against threats from Russia and China. In his message to Støre, he claimed Denmark was unable to protect the territory, a position he reiterated in a post on his Truth Social platform on Monday.
Denmark has rejected that assertion. Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said steps had already been taken with NATO allies to increase military presence and training activities in the Arctic and North Atlantic. He added that he and Greenland’s foreign minister, Vivian Motzfeldt, were scheduled to meet NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte later on Monday.
Greenland itself has pushed back strongly against Trump’s comments and tariff threats. Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the territory would not be coerced into surrendering its autonomy.
“We will not be pressured,” Nielsen wrote on Facebook, adding that Greenland “is a democratic society with the right to make its own decisions.”
The diplomatic row widened over the weekend after Trump announced plans to impose a 10 percent tariff, starting February 1, on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland. He warned the tariffs could be increased further.
European leaders reacted angrily. Germany’s Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil described the move as blackmail, saying Europe was preparing countermeasures. France’s Finance Minister Roland Lescure, speaking alongside Klingbeil, said such tactics were unacceptable between long-standing allies.
“Blackmail between allies of 250 years, blackmail between friends, is obviously unacceptable,” Lescure said.
Klingbeil said Europe’s response could include suspending the current tariff agreement with the United States, reactivating EU tariffs on US imports that are currently frozen until early February, and deploying instruments designed to counter what he described as economic blackmail.
The European Union said it would hold an emergency summit on Thursday to assess its response. While emphasizing that its priority was to “engage, not escalate,” the bloc said it was ready to act if necessary. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent cautioned that any European retaliation would be “very unwise.”
Markets reacted nervously to the escalating rhetoric, with European stocks falling at the start of trading on Monday. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned that a trade war would benefit no one.
Public unease in Greenland, home to about 57,000 people, has also been growing. On Monday, the Greenlandic dog sledge federation announced it had disinvited the new US special envoy to the island from attending its annual race. The envoy, Jeff Landry, had been invited by a private tour operator, an invitation the federation had previously described as “totally inappropriate.”