US President Donald Trump said he was seeking immediate talks on the US acquiring Greenland while saying he did not plan to use force, during an address to the world’s business and political elite at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on Wednesday.
In response to Mr Trump’s stance on the island a trade deal between the US and European Union has been put on hold after the European Parliament decided to freeze a ratification vote in response to Mr Trump’s escalating threats to seize Greenland.
The parliament’s trade committee postponed the vote indefinitely on Wednesday, casting doubt on whether the pact will ever get across the finish line.
“I’m seeking immediate negotiations to once again discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the United States, just as we have acquired many other territories throughout our history,” Mr Trump told attendees in Switzerland.
Mr Trump cast the American acquisition of Greenland as essential to collective security and downplayed the danger it would pose to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato), while suggesting that the US had not received enough in return for its contributions during World War II and after to ensure the protection of its economic partners.
And the US president raised the threat of military force to seize the island, even as he insisted he did not want to resort to that option yet.
“We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force where we would be, frankly, unstoppable. But I won’t do that,” Trump said.
Mr Trump’s address to Davos, his first visit to the gathering since returning to power, offered a stark challenge to allied leaders who have been angered by his unrelenting push to take control of the Arctic island, a crisis which has overshadowed the entire forum.
Old order ‘not coming back’ as Trump overshadows World Economic Forum
“You can say yes and we will be very appreciative, or you can say no and we will remember,” he said.
European leaders in recent days have been discussing how to respond to Trump’s demands, including potential economic retaliation, but the US president has dismissed those threats, suggesting that allies have more to lose by opposing his agenda.
Mr Trump insisted on Wednesday that allowing the US to acquire Greenland would boost collective security and not endanger Nato, even as he belittled the military alliance.
[ Could Dublin be the new Davos?Opens in new window ]
“This would not be a threat to Nato. This would greatly enhance the security of the entire Alliance,” Mr Trump said. “The United States is treated very unfairly by Nato,” he added. “We’ve [given] so much and we get so little in return.”
But even as he sought to make his case, Mr Trump delivered a starkly confrontational tone, deriding Canadian prime minister Mark Carney for critical remarks at the forum and saying the US northern neighbour should be more grateful for the security provided by the US.
The US president also hailed his policies as ushering in an American economic boom and said his agenda offered an example for Europe to follow.
“Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of my inauguration, and today, after 12 months back in the White House, our economy is booming. Growth is exploding, productivity is surging, investment is soaring, incomes are rising. Inflation has been defeated,” Mr Trump said.
The address delivered a harsh warning to Europe, suggesting the continent’s liberal governments were falling behind the US and that leaders needed to emulate his model to provide for their citizens.
[ US tactics on Greenland ‘tearing apart’ existing trade deal, Minister claimsOpens in new window ]
“The USA is the economic engine on the planet and when America booms, the entire world booms, it’s been the history when it goes bad, it goes bad,” Mr Trump said. “I love Europe, and I want to see Europe go good, but it’s not heading in the right direction.”
The president’s speech promises to unveil the details of a sweeping effort to address affordability concerns at home – with the audience at Davos offering a setting for Trump to burnish his populist credentials, with policies that threaten to target powerful stakeholders, including Wall Street banks, investment companies, home builders and health insurers.
But the opening of the address was directed at the audience in Davos, as he cast Europe as unrecognisable because of mass immigration and focus on green technologies, which he has long derided as a “scam,” pushing his approach to the economy and collective security.
“That’s why issues like energy, trade, immigration and economic growth must be central concerns to anyone who wants to see a strong and united West,” Mr Trump said. – Bloomberg
