US President Donald Trump has made a surprising claim that he and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte have agreed on a "framework" for the United States to secure "total access" to Greenland. The comments came after Trump suddenly dropped his threat to impose tariffs on European allies who did not support Washington's takeover of the island, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark.
According to Trump, the access would be permanent and without any time limit. However, there was no immediate comment from Denmark on Trump's remarks, which were made just hours after Rutte told Reuters that the framework agreement would require NATO countries to swiftly ramp up security efforts in the Arctic region to ward off threats from Russia and China.
The move has been met with skepticism by some, who point out that Greenland is a sovereign territory of Denmark and cannot be acquired by the US without its consent. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Thursday that while issues such as security, investment, and economic matters could be discussed, "we cannot negotiate on our sovereignty."
Rutte also emphasized that the talks would not touch on issues of sovereignty, adding that only Denmark and Greenland could make decisions on matters concerning themselves. The German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, welcomed Trump's U-turn on Greenland and urged Europeans not to be too quick to write off the transatlantic partnership.
Despite the US president's sudden about-face on his tariff threats, European governments remained wary of another change of mind by a US president who was increasingly seen as a bully that Europe needed to stand up to. The issue remains a contentious one, with many observers pointing out that Greenland is not a strategic location for the United States and that the move could undermine NATO's credibility.
The future of Greenland under this new framework is uncertain, but one thing is clear: the situation has added new complexity to US-European relations, highlighting the need for careful diplomacy and cooperation on issues of security and sovereignty.
According to Trump, the access would be permanent and without any time limit. However, there was no immediate comment from Denmark on Trump's remarks, which were made just hours after Rutte told Reuters that the framework agreement would require NATO countries to swiftly ramp up security efforts in the Arctic region to ward off threats from Russia and China.
The move has been met with skepticism by some, who point out that Greenland is a sovereign territory of Denmark and cannot be acquired by the US without its consent. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Thursday that while issues such as security, investment, and economic matters could be discussed, "we cannot negotiate on our sovereignty."
Rutte also emphasized that the talks would not touch on issues of sovereignty, adding that only Denmark and Greenland could make decisions on matters concerning themselves. The German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, welcomed Trump's U-turn on Greenland and urged Europeans not to be too quick to write off the transatlantic partnership.
Despite the US president's sudden about-face on his tariff threats, European governments remained wary of another change of mind by a US president who was increasingly seen as a bully that Europe needed to stand up to. The issue remains a contentious one, with many observers pointing out that Greenland is not a strategic location for the United States and that the move could undermine NATO's credibility.
The future of Greenland under this new framework is uncertain, but one thing is clear: the situation has added new complexity to US-European relations, highlighting the need for careful diplomacy and cooperation on issues of security and sovereignty.
... Greenland is like, Denmark's territory right? So if Trump thinks he can just waltz in and get total access without Denmark's consent... that's like me showing up at your house with a BBQ grill and expecting you to be cool with it 
. Doesn't work that way.
. If they're really talking about security and investment, fine... but don't try to sneak in some sovereignty talk without Denmark's permission, Trump! 
... but do we need another superpower messing around up there? Can't we just stick to our own alliances and not try to muscle in on someone else's turf 
?
. First, he's all about imposing tariffs on European allies who don't go along with his Greenland takeover plans, and then BAM! He drops that threat and suddenly says we're going to get "total access" to the island without any time limit? 
It just seems like a major U-turn, but I guess you never know what Trump's going to do next 
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. But at the same time, it seems like Rutte is trying to strike a balance between cooperation with the US and maintaining Denmark's sovereignty 
. And yeah, this whole thing is definitely adding complexity to US-European relations... I mean, who knows what's going to happen next? 
no biggie. I mean, who needs Denmark's consent anyway? It's not like they're gonna say no or anything... lol. And yeah, let's be real, NATO is basically useless without the US so why not just make it a permanent thing? The Germans are right, we need to stop being so cautious and just roll with it 
. I bet Russia and China are just sitting there twiddling their thumbs thinking "oh no, the US just took over Greenland"... meanwhile, Greenland gets all the free stuff 
I don't trust Trump one bit! He just wants a free pass to exploit Greenland's resources and expand US military presence without Denmark's consent 
. This whole thing feels like a power grab, plain and simple 
. What about the sovereignty of Greenland? Does nobody care about that anymore? 
And what's next? Will Europe just roll over and let the US do whatever it wants across the globe? 
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. And then Rutte comes along and is all like "okay, we got security, investment, economic stuff, but our sovereignty is good" 
.
.
. I remember when Reagan was president and he used to talk about the Soviet Union being this super-powerful threat 
. Now it seems like we're back at that, but instead of just Russia, there's China in the mix too 
... I mean, isn't that Denmark's sovereign territory? It feels like he's trying to make a big deal out of nothing 
. And what's with this "framework" agreement? Sounds like some dodgy business deal to me 
. Back in the day, we used to think that NATO was supposed to be a united front against communism, not some kind of free-for-all where everyone just makes up their own rules 
...
. And can we talk about how Germany just jumped into Trump's corner out of nowhere? It's all very suspicious 
.