Trump repeats intent to obtain Greenland at WEF, but rules out use of force
In a widely anticipated speech at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, US president Donald Trump has repeated his intent to obtain the island of Greenland. Trump announced US are seeking "immediate negotiations" with Denmark over the acquisition of the island, adding that "we won't use force".
Despite months of negotiations to convince him of the opposite, US president Donald Trump has repeated his intent to obtain Greenland during a speech at the WEF on Wednesday. Trump said he is seeking "immediate negotiations" to acquire the island, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark.
While some feared that Trump might turn to military force to capture the territory, the US president dismissed that notion. "We probably won't get anything unless I decide to use excessive force, we'd be unstoppable, but we won't do that," he said. Trump then added: "I don't have to use force, I don't want to use force, I won't use force."
Trump also addressed the room during his speech, which was filled with government leaders and policy makers, urging them to go along with his ambition to acquire Greenland. "You can say yes, and we'll be very appreciative, or you can say no and we will remember," he said.
NATO criticism
Trump repeated his claim that Greenland is a "vast, almost uninhabited and undeveloped country, sitting undefended". He also denied that he is doing this to secure the island's natural resources, saying that there is "no such thing as rare earth materials in Greenland. What matters is it's strategic national security and international security".
While the Greenland crisis has not been defused, NATO members may take some reassurance from Trump’s explicit rejection of the use of force. At the same time, he did not conceal his criticism of the alliance, again claiming that the United States are treated unfairly by NATO. "We give so much and we get so little in return," he said.
That criticism ignores the fact that NATO invoked Article 5, the alliance's collective defense clause, after the 9/11 attacks. Several European countries, including the UK, France, Germany and Denmark, subsequently deployed troops as part of the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan.
PHOTO © Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP
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