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Donald Trump’s pivot from military intervention to a Nato-brokered compromise on Greenland has left European capitals struggling to work out whether the US president’s pressure campaign to take over the Arctic territory is over — and whether to trust his word at all.
Trump’s imperialistic rhetoric had promoted an emergency meeting of EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday to discuss how to respond to his desire to take over the Danish-controlled territory.
But the US president announced after a meeting with Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte on Wednesday evening that he had found a “solution”, and also rescinded his threat to impose tariffs on EU countries that opposed his ambition to annex the Arctic island.
The unexpected move has upended a summit that was envisaged to develop a united front against Trump’s economic coercion and his desire to conquer European territory, three EU officials said, and raised the question of just how long transatlantic trust could last.
“Based upon a very productive meeting that I have had with . . . Rutte, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
“Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st,” Trump added. Asked shortly after if he had spoken to other European leaders about his shift, Trump replied: “Yes.”
The initial threat — also made via social media five days previously — to impose 10 per cent tariffs on exports from Denmark and five other EU states plus the UK and Norway, had sparked the biggest crisis in the transatlantic relationship for decades.
EU leaders will want to discuss what the framework is about, what implications it would have for Danish sovereignty, how it would engage Denmark’s Nato partners and what it might cost the Europeans. But underlying it all will be the question of whether the US president can be trusted to stick to an agreed outcome.
By setting aside some of the most aggressive threats over Greenland, Trump also left European leaders in a discussion where competing national interests — whether on trade, Greenland, Ukraine or the transatlantic alliance — were more likely to come to the fore.
“He’s appearing more flexible which is dangerous for EU unity, as he’s obviously appealing to different views among the member states,” said one of the officials involved in the summit preparations.
Trump’s statement said that “additional discussions are being held concerning The Golden Dome as it pertains to Greenland”, referring to his administration’s proposed missile defence initiative.
Trump said his vice-president JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff would be involved in the negotiations over Greenland.
Denmark and Greenland have been clear on one point since Trump first expressed an interest in acquiring the island in 2019: the territory is not for sale.
Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Denmark’s foreign minister, reacted cautiously to Trump’s announcement, saying he had spoken briefly to Rutte. He insisted that “it is not going to happen that the USA will own Greenland. That is a red line”.
He also signalled that Denmark was ready to start negotiations over US security concerns along the lines that he and Greenland’s foreign minister agreed to with Vance and Rubio last week.
“The day is ending on a better note than it began. We welcome that POTUS has ruled out to take Greenland by force and paused the trade war,” Rasmussen added.
“Now, let’s sit down and find out how we can address the American security concerns in the Arctic while respecting the red lines of the Kingdom of Denmark.”
Trump’s comments until late on Wednesday, however, had indicated that only owning Greenland would satisfy him. “It’s not something we can negotiate,” said Pelle Dragsted, a leftwing Danish MP. “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders and you can’t sell people and countries.”
Rutte’s spokesperson said he had “a very productive meeting” with Trump about “the critical significance of security in the Arctic region”.
“Negotiations between Denmark, Greenland and the United States will go forward aimed at ensuring that Russia and China never gain a foothold, economically or militarily, in Greenland,” they added.
But many EU officials were sceptical that Trump’s pivot to a diplomatic solution was sustainable.
“He’s patently unstable,” the official added. “He can come back tomorrow and decide every EU country is getting tariffs. He can decide that actually he’s fine to use military force and invade [Greenland]. I hope that [EU leaders] don’t fall for it.”
One worry for those deeply involved in the transatlantic discussions is that Europe rarely speaks with one voice and that Trump may pounce on any public divisions.
“These are demanding times. The situation in Nato is difficult,” said Tore Sandvik, Norway’s defence minister. “We have been advocating for many years that Nato should have more focus in the Arctic.”
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