Trump talks Greenland at NATO, says U.S. could pull troops from Europe
US President Donald Trump gestures while speaking during the bilateral meeting at the Beştepe Presidential Complex following Trump’s arrival to attend the annual NATO Summit to be held in Ankara on July 7, 2026.
Win Mcnamee | Getty Images
President Donald Trump on Tuesday renewed his push for the United States to buy Greenland, suggesting the United States could withdraw all armed service members from Europe in response to the continent’s ongoing pressure on the issue.
Shortly after arriving in Ankara for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit, Trump said the island region “should be controlled by the United States.”
The 32-member alliance, which includes Greenland and Denmark, fell into crisis in January when Trump demanded that the United States take control of the island territory on national security grounds.
In a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday afternoon Ankara time, Trump said Europe’s refusal to comply with his own expansionist desires is “what hurts my relationship with NATO.”
“Because Greenland isn’t helping Denmark. Denmark isn’t really spending money to help Greenland, but it’s a significant cut for the United States,” Trump told reporters.
“And it’s surrounded by Chinese ships and Russian ships, and that won’t happen, there won’t be ships,” he said, repeating claims about foreign military threats to the autonomous island. Experts in Greenland denied.
Trump said Greenland should be controlled by the United States, not Denmark. “And when they don’t comply, for all the money we spent helping them with Russia, we don’t have to spend any money.”
“We can get all our soldiers out of Europe,” he added. “Because, as you’ve probably noticed, Europe is a very different place than it was 20 years ago.”
Making a general speech about Europe, Trump continued: “They better be careful about immigration and energy. If they don’t pay attention to those two things, you’re not going to have a Europe anymore.”
He then ended the part of the meeting open to the press.
Working group discussions
Trump’s comments have thrust Greenland, a vast, sparsely populated and largely frozen Arctic island, back into the geopolitical spotlight.
The US President’s pursuit of Greenland became a major trans-Atlantic issue at the beginning of the year, triggered by Trump’s repeated claims that the US should seize the island. Greenlandic MPs He insisted that the island was not for sale.
Trump, who has refused to rule out using military force to annex Greenland, suddenly announced in late January that he and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte were creating “the framework for a future agreement” on the region.
A working group consisting of representatives from the United States, Denmark and Greenland has since been meeting to discuss the path forward.
Residential apartment buildings stand among the snow in Nuuk, Greenland, on January 25, 2026.
Sean Gallup | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen reportedly He said late last month that he expected the working group to find a solution by the end of the year.
Asked about Trump’s recent comments on Greenland on Tuesday, Finnish President Alexander Stubb told CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick: “Be more Arctic, be more cool-headed. If it’s about the security of the Arctic, there are seven Arctic nations in the alliance.”
He added: “Finland trained a million soldiers in Arctic conditions; we actually live in Arctic conditions. Let’s keep that in mind. Let’s continue the process that the Danes, Americans and Greenlanders have done.”
