Trump doubles down on ‘Russian threat’ to Greenland

The US president has said Washington must act now because Denmark supposedly failed to address the alleged risk for 20 years

US President Donald Trump has said Washington will deter a supposed Russian threat to Greenland, claiming that Danish authorities have ignored warnings about the alleged risk for two decades. Moscow has repeatedly stressed it has no interest in the autonomous Danish territory.

Writing on Truth Social on Sunday, Trump stated 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!!!”

His statement followed a discussion with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who confirmed on Saturday that he had spoken with Trump “regarding the security situation in Greenland and the Arctic.” Although Rutte did not provide details of the discussion, he stated the two would continue working on the issue.

Last week, Trump announced 10% tariffs on eight European NATO nations – Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and Finland – for opposing his bid to acquire Greenland and sending small military contingents to the island. He stated the tariffs, set to begin February 1, would rise to 25% in June until a “complete and total purchase” is achieved.

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European leaders have rejected the pressure as “blackmail” and an assault on sovereignty. In a joint statement, the eight targeted nations called the tariff threats an effort to “undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.” The EU is preparing a retaliatory trade package and has affirmed its “full solidarity” with Denmark.

Trump has long framed the acquisition of Greenland – which has a population of around 57,000 but is 2.17 million square kilometers in size – as a national security imperative to counter Russia and China in the Arctic – a claim officials in Copenhagen, Beijing, and Moscow have consistently dismissed as baseless.

Russia, which has a huge Arctic presence but is located thousands of kilometers from Greenland, has called the situation around Trump’s annexation plans “extraordinary” while noting that it recognizes the island as Danish territory. 

At the same time, Moscow has condemned NATO’s accelerated militarization of the Arctic, warning that any actions that disregard Russia’s interests in the region would have “negative consequences.”