After receiving President Donald Trump’s latest demand for Greenland via text message Sunday, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre was among the European leaders who signaled they aim to meet with Trump at this week’s World Economic Forum in Switzerland to dial down European-US tensions that have been stoked by Trump’s persistent threats.
In his message to Gahr Støre, Trump announced that his desire to control Greenland was partially motivated by his anger over being passed over last year for the Nobel Peace Prize, which is handed out in Norway annually—but not by the country’s government.
“Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America,” Trump wrote in his message, which was reportedly forwarded by the National Security Council staff to numerous European ambassadors in Washington, DC.
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He repeated his claim that Denmark, which has counted Greenland as part of its kingdom for hundreds of years, “cannot protect” the Arctic island from Russia and China, and said that the “World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland.” Security experts in Europe say Russia and China do not pose any immediate threat to Greenland.
Trump also asked why Denmark has a “right of ownership” to the semiautonomous territory. The US has recognized for decades in formal agreements with its European ally that Greenland is a part of Denmark’s kingdom.
Trump’s oft-repeated claim that he has “stopped 8 Wars PLUS” has been heavily disputed, considering hundreds of Palestinians have been killed by US-backed Israeli forces since the “ceasefire” agreement the president brokered was signed in October. He has claimed credit for truces between Cambodia and Thailand as well as India and Pakistan, but the former conflict has seen renewed fighting and India has denied the existence of a ceasefire. Other peace agreements Trump had a hand in mediating have not been finalized or fully implemented.
The president has also invaded Venezuela and killed over 100 people aboard boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific as he claimed they were involved in drug trafficking—killings that have been called extrajudicial murder by legal experts—all while harboring anger over the Nobel Committee’s refusal to honor his supposed peacemaking efforts.
In the US, the news of Trump’s message led Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) to write on social media that the president’s mental acuity appears to have “degraded significantly in the last year.”
“These are the ramblings of a man who has lost touch with reality. He isn’t okay,” said Murphy. “And he’s about to get us into a war with our allies.”
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) added that Trump’s Cabinet must “invoke the 25th Amendment,” which allows administration officials to declare a president unable to serve, while advocate Melanie D’Arrigo of the Campaign for New York Health called on reporters to print out Trump’s letter “on a giant poster, and ask Republicans in Congress why we shouldn’t impeach him when he wants to attack our allies because he didn’t win the Nobel Peace Prize?”
“I’m tired of Republicans saying, ‘I didn’t see it,’” said D’Arrigo.
Gahr Støre confirmed Monday that he received Trump’s letter via text message and said the missive had been in response to the Norwegian leader’s request for a three-way phone call between himself, the White House, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb to deescalate tensions.
European leaders’ concerns over Trump intensified over the weekend as the US president said on Saturday he plans to impose new tariffs on longtime allies and North American Treaty Organization (NATO) partners Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, the United Kingdom, and Norway, until the US is allowed to purchase Greenland and take control of its vast minerals as well as ostensibly benefiting from its strategic location in the Arctic.
On Monday, Trump did not rule out using military force to conquer Greenland, home to about 57,000 people, saying only, “No comment” when asked about it by NBC News.
Gahr Støre and other leaders signaled plans to continue trying to handle Trump’s threats against his country’s own allies diplomatically, with the Norwegian prime minister amending his schedule this week to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos during Trump’s planned appearance there. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also said Monday he would try to meet with Trump at Davos on Wednesday, when the president is scheduled to deliver a keynote address.
Despite Trump’s comments on the Nobel Prize, “I still believe it’s wise to talk,” Gahr Støre told TV2 Norway Monday.
But Merz emphasized that if European countries “are confronted with tariffs that we consider unreasonable, then we are capable of responding.”
The European Union is considering imposing a never-before-used anti-coercion instrument to limit major US companies from doing business on the continent, or implementing its own package of tariffs on $108 billion in US imports starting February 6.
Gahr Støre said in a statement Monday that Norway’s position on Greenland, as other European allies’ views, “is clear.”
“Greenland is a part of the kingdom of Denmark, and Norway fully supports the kingdom of Denmark on this matter. We also support that NATO in a responsible way is taking steps to strengthen security and stability in the Arctic,” said the prime minister.
“As regards the Nobel Peace Prize,” he added, “I have clearly explained, including to President Trump, what is well known, the prize is awarded by an independent Nobel Committee and not the Norwegian government.”
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