“BLACKMAIL”
Trump and his administration have argued that Greenland coming under US rule would serve American “national security”.
He and his aides have also argued that Denmark, a fellow NATO member, would be unable to defend Greenland should Russia or China ever seek to invade.
Denmark and several of its European NATO allies responded by recently sending small numbers of military personnel to Greenland for an exercise, to which the US was also invited.
And on Saturday, thousands of people in Greenland and Denmark protested against the US push to control the Arctic island.
“Make America Go Away” read the wording on caps worn by many demonstrators, riffing on Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.
Trump responded Saturday with his threat to slap goods coming into the US from Britain, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Finland with 10-per cent tariffs starting Feb 1.
They would rise to 25 per cent from Jun 1 “until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland”, Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Even Italy’s far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, one of Trump’s closest European allies, baulked at the threat.
“I believe that imposing new sanctions today would be a mistake,” she told journalists during a trip to Seoul.
“I spoke to Donald Trump a few hours ago and told him what I think,” she added.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called it “completely wrong”, and said he planned to discuss the situation with Trump “at the earliest opportunity”.
Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel denounced Trump’s threat as an “inexplicable” form of “blackmail”.
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