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 his long and sometimes rambling speech, the US President also 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’s saying: ‘Oh, good’. That was probably the biggest statement I ever made because people thought I was going to use force.”
Trump, who had previously been uncertain about how far he could go, refused to use force for the first time.
Carney on Tuesday called for middle powers to join forces on trade and other fronts and use pressure to oppose major powers, but Trump did not name the United States or China.
“The middle powers need to act together, because if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu,” Carney said.
Macron used his speech at the forum to reject “new imperialism” and call for a strong European trade response to the threats, but did not make any personal comments about the US President.
Trump acknowledged Macron’s “tough” speech and pointed out the sunglasses he wears due to his eye condition, but was more critical of Carney.
The US President said that the new missile defense system plan, called Golden Dome, will protect Canada as well as America.
“Meanwhile, Canada is getting a lot of free money from us,” he said. “They should be grateful too, but they’re not. I watched your prime minister yesterday, he wasn’t that grateful. But they should be grateful to the United States. Canada is alive because of the United States.”
He also said Denmark was being ungrateful by refusing to surrender Greenland, where the United States defended Greenland during World War II.
Later in his speech, he said, “What I want now is a cold, poorly positioned piece of ice that can play a vital role in world peace and preservation of the world.” he said.
“This is a very small request compared to what we have given them over the decades.
“But the problem with NATO is that we will be on their side 100 percent, but I’m not sure they will be on our side.”
These remarks echoed Trump’s common theme that NATO allies in Europe would not come to the defense of the United States if called upon; But it comes at a time when some in Europe doubt that the United States will come to the United States’ defense under Trump’s foreign policy approach.
Trump said that Europe can either say yes or no to the United States on the Greenland issue. He added that the US would “remember” if said no.
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