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Greenland tariffs and NATO
Donald Trump, President of the United States, said on Sunday he would confront the 'Russia threat' in Greenland and accused Denmark of not doing enough to secure the polar island, while writing on Truth Social that "NATO has been telling Denmark for twenty years that it must keep the Russia threat away from Greenland."
Trump also threatened a wave of tariff increases on Denmark and other European allies who oppose his ambition to seize Greenland, saying the time has come and "this will be done!!!"
In the same dispute, the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told state media TASS that "Here perhaps one can look at the issue, regardless of whether it is good or bad," as Russia reacted to the idea that a U.S. takeover would be a historic event.
The dispute intensified on Saturday when Trump said he would impose a 10 percent tariff starting February 1 that could rise to 25 percent from June 1 until a deal is reached to secure Greenland under Washington's control.
A January 2025 poll cited in the reporting said about 56 percent of Greenlanders favor independence from Denmark, while only 6 percent said they would like to join the United States.
Allies push back
Keir Starmer, the British Prime Minister, said the dispute over Greenland should be settled through "calm dialogue among allies" rather than with threats of a tariff war among allies, and he told reporters: "No, I don’t actually think so."
Starmer emphasized that London will not enter a tariff war over the dispute because "this is not the right way to settle differences within an alliance," and he said he would again discuss Greenland with Trump in the coming days.
In parallel, rts.ch reported that Trump raised his voice on Saturday after European troops were deployed to the Arctic island as part of Danish maneuvers, threatening new tariffs on eight European countries until "an agreement is concluded for the complete and total sale of Greenland."
The same rts.ch account said an emergency meeting of EU ambassadors is planned for Sunday afternoon in Brussels, while the Danish foreign minister began a diplomatic tour of Norway, the United Kingdom and Sweden.
According to rts.ch, protesters gathered in Copenhagen and Nuuk chanting "Greenland is not for sale," and it cited a January 2025 poll saying 85% of Greenlanders oppose their attachment to the United States.
Iran pressure and NATO future
In a separate interview, Trump warned in the Financial Times that NATO would face a very bad future if America's allies do not help regarding Iran, arguing that "If no response is given or the response is negative, I think the future of NATO will be very bad."
“Israel continues its raids, Iran strikes back on several fronts”
Trump said it would be better for those who profit from the Strait of Hormuz to help ensure that no bad event occurs there, and he added that China imports 90 percent of its oil from there.
Charente Libre reported that Trump pressed U.S. allies and China to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz and said "It is entirely normal that those who profit from this strait help ensure that nothing untoward happens there," while predicting "very bad consequences for the future of NATO" if alliance members refuse to comply.
The same Charente Libre account said Japan's Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said his country "did not envisage" such a deployment, and Australia's Transport Minister Catherine King said "We will not send a ship into the Strait of Hormuz."
As the Iran war continued, the reporting said the International Energy Agency decided last week to collectively release 400 million barrels from strategic reserves, and it noted oil prices were stabilizing around $100 a barrel on Monday.
