Trump says he ‘won’t use force’ to seize Greenland in Davos address
Brussels: US President Donald Trump has ruled out using force to seize Greenland after leaving that option on the table for months in a dispute with European leaders over the region, changing his tune amid fears of a trade war over the dispute.
Trump repeated his demand for ownership of Greenland in a major address in Switzerland on Wednesday (early Thursday, AEDT), warning that America would “remember” if it did not get the island, but made his first clear statement about not using force to get his way.
“I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force,” he said.
Trump made the statement while addressing nearly 1,000 delegates at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and emphasized the importance of his words as a sign that he knew he had clarified a key concern among political and business leaders.
In a long and sometimes rambling speech, the US President criticized Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney for his speech yesterday about the need to stand up to the great powers, and also took issue with French President Emmanuel Macron over the pharmaceutical trade.
Trump complained that the United States had defended Europe during World War II and prevented Greenland from falling into enemy hands, but opted to return the region to Denmark at the end of the conflict; He said this decision was a mistake.
“We’ve never asked for anything and we’ve never gotten anything,” he said. “We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use extreme force and force, as long as we’re going to be, quite frankly, unstoppable.
“But I’m not going to do that. OK? Now everyone says, ‘Oh, good.’ That was probably the biggest statement I ever made because people thought I was going to use force.”
“But I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.”
Trump, who had previously been vague about how far he was willing to go, refused to use force for the first time.
The president said the United States “probably won’t achieve anything” unless it decides to “use extreme force and force,” which he said would make the United States “frankly unstoppable.”
“But I won’t do that. Okay?” Trump said.
More to come
Take notes directly from our foreign country reporters about things that make headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What’s on in the World Newsletter.
