Donald Trump made the announcement during an interview at the World Economic Forum
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Donald Trump says ‘The US alone’ can protect Greenland
Donald Trump declared that the US will have ‘total access’ to Greenland thanks to a new deal with NATO members hammered out at Davos.
The President also pledged that a portion of America’s “Golden Dome” missile defense system would be constructed in Greenland.
“Essentially, it provides full access,” Trump said during an interview on Thursday morning with Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo at the World Economic Forum. Insisting the US needs the terrority for security, Trump said that the US will have “total access to Greenland” and all the “military access”.
President Trump said: “There’s no end, there’s no time limit.”
Donald Trump announced the new deal this afternoon
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Image:
AFP via Getty Images)
He added: “I’m not gonna have to pay anything. We’re gonna have total access to Greenland. We’re gonna have all military access that we want. We’re going to be able to put what we need on Greenland because we want it.
“We’re talking about national security and international security.” Discussions with NATO remain at a preliminary phase, and the precise terms of the eventual agreement are not yet clear. The announcement comes after Trump’s surprise announcement that “framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland” was being worked on.
He said that this meant the threat of tariffs on the UK and EU allies who opposed his plan to annex Greenland would be withdrawn.
The deal would involve Greenland’s minerals and the US Golden Dome missile defence system and would last “forever,” Trump said in an interview with CNBC.
When asked if the deal involved the US ownership of territory in Greenland the US president replied that the arrangement was “a little bit complex.”
Further talks on the Greenland issue were ongoing, Trump announced on Wednesday, with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff reportedly leading negotiations.
The comments come a day after Trump’s rambling speech at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, in which he appeared to confuse Greenland and Iceland and claimed that European nation’s “called me Daddy”.
“We need Greenland for strategic national security and international security,” he previously told the assembled world leaders and business figures.
“The island is part of North America, it is our territory. It is the US alone that can protect this great piece of ice and make it that it is safe and good for Europe,” he added.
While he confirmed he is “seeking immediate negotiations to discuss the acquisition of this territory,” he also seemed to rule out a military operation, saying: “I don’t have to use force, I don’t want to use force, I won’t use force.”