US President Donald Trump on Wednesday abruptly stepped back from threats to impose tariffs on European allies that opposed his plans to seize Greenland. Ruling out use of force to acquire the Arctic island, Trump said a deal was in sight to end the dispute over the Danish territory that risked the deepest rupture in transatlantic relations in decades. Trump had threatened at the weekend to impose rising tariffs on eight European countries' US-bound exports. But after meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the Swiss Alpine resort, Trump said Western Arctic allies could forge a new deal over the strategic island territory of 57,000 people that satisfies his desire for a "Golden Dome" missile‐defense system and access to critical minerals while blocking Russia and China's ambitions in the Arctic. "It's a deal that everybody's very happy with," Trump told reporters. "It's a long-term deal. It's the ultimate long-term deal. It puts everybody in a really good position, especially as it pertains to security and to minerals." "What happens in Greenland is of absolutely no consequence to us," said Russian President Vladimir Putin, quoted by Russian news agencies speaking to the country's National Security Council. Along with Greenland's strategic location, the US has spoken about the island's vast — and largely untapped — reserves of rare earth minerals, many of which are crucial for technologies including mobile phones and electric vehicles. Rutte later said the issue of whether Greenland will remain with Denmark did not come up in his talks with Trump. "That issue did not come up anymore in my conversations tonight with the president," Rutte said in an interview on Fox News. Trump earlier in the day had delivered more than an hour of scolding and dismissive threats aimed at countries already unnerved by his push to seize territory from a longtime US-NATO ally. But there was no suggestion of a deal that might meet Trump's demand for "ownership" of Greenland, an ambition he restated at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, where he also ruled out military force. On Truth Social on Wednesday, the US president said: "We have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region. "This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations." Diplomatic sources told CBS that there was no agreement for American control or ownership of the autonomous Danish dependent territory. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said in a statement: "The day is ending on a better note than it began." He 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." European diplomats said the US president's sudden shift in tone doesn't resolve the dispute but helps defuse an open rift between allies as they work to sort out their differences in private. NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart said in a statement after the meeting between Trump and Rutte: "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." No date or venue was provided for such negotiations. Trump said he had tasked Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and envoy Steve Witkoff to take part in further discussions. It remained unclear what kind of agreement could meet Trump's demands for outright "ownership" of a territory that its residents and leaders have said is not for sale. However, one of two Greenlandic lawmakers in the Danish parliament questioned why NATO would have any input on the island's mineral wealth. "NATO in no case has the right to negotiate on anything without us, Greenland. Nothing about us without us," Aaja Chenmitz said. According to US media, the potential plan could allow the US to build more military bases on the territory. Officials who attended the NATO meeting on Wednesday told the New York Times the suggested arrangement would be similar to UK bases on Cyprus, which are part of British Overseas Territories. Under existing agreements with Denmark, the US can bring as many troops as it wants to Greenland. It already has more than 100 military personnel permanently stationed at its Pituffik base in the north-western tip of the territory. In his first speech in six years to the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, Trump said he was "seeking immediate negotiations" to acquire Greenland, but insisted the US would not take the territory with force. "We probably won't get anything unless I decide to use excessive force. We'd be unstoppable, but we won't do that," Trump said. "I don't have to use force. I don't want to use force. I won't use force." He also urged world leaders to allow the US to take control of Greenland from Denmark, saying: "You can say yes and we will be very appreciative. Or you can say no and we will remember." Earlier in the day, the US president acknowledged financial markets' discomfort with his threats and ruled out force in a speech to global elites at the World Economic Forum annual meeting. "People thought I would use force, but I don't have to use force," Trump said. "I don't want to use force. I won't use force." The change in posture sparked buying on Wall Street. The S&P 500 index posted its biggest one-day percentage gain in two months, adding 1.16% for the day. Trump's more hawkish comments on Greenland on Tuesday helped deliver the sharpest equities selloff in three months. In his speech, Trump took aim at French President Emmanuel Macron, saying France had been "screwing" the US for decades. In his speech at Davos a day earlier, Macron criticised Trump's previous threat of import taxes. He said an "endless accumulation of new tariffs" from the US was "fundamentally unacceptable". Macron was among those urging the EU to consider retaliatory options against new US levies. The US president also took a swipe at Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who urged "middle powers" such as Australia, Argentina and his own country to band together when he spoke at Davos a day earlier. In response, the US president accused Carney of being ungrateful to the US. "Canada lives because of the United States," Trump said. "Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements." — Agencies
