(AFP) – Donald Trump said Tuesday he has agreed to a meeting with “various parties” this week about Greenland, as the US president steps up pressure on European leaders at Davos over his demand to take the Arctic island from NATO ally Denmark. Trump is expected to dominate the week-long gathering of global elites at the Swiss ski resort, putting the transatlantic alliance to the test with his push to take over the Danish autonomous territory.
Europe is weighing countermeasures after Trump threatened to impose tariffs on eight European countries over the Greenland standoff — though Washington has warned that any retaliatory levies would be “unwise”. Trump was not due to arrive at the World Economic Forum (WEF) until Wednesday, but was already overshadowing the agenda with a series of posts on his Truth Social platform, saying he had a “very good” call with NATO chief Mark Rutte over Greenland.
“I agreed to a meeting of the various parties in Davos, Switzerland,” he said in the post late Monday. The US president said he did not think European leaders would “push back too much” on his attempt to buy the vast strategic island, telling reporters on Monday: “They can’t protect it.”
European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron will address the forum on Tuesday, along with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose countries have their own disputes with Trump. Trump will deliver a speech on Wednesday and is scheduled to participate in other events on Thursday. A US delegation is already on the ground in Davos to promote an American agenda that has unsettled the global order cherished by the WEF.
While Macron will leave on Tuesday without seeing Trump in Davos, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he would seek to meet the US president at the forum on Wednesday. Macron has instead sent a message to Trump to propose a G7 summit in Paris on Thursday on Greenland, as well as ways to end Russia’s war with Ukraine, with Moscow and Kyiv attending on the sidelines.
But Trump’s relations with Macron hit a new low Monday when the US president threatened 200 percent tariffs on French wine over France’s intention to decline an invitation to join his “Board of Peace”. Analysts have likened the board aimed at resolving international conflicts — which has a $1 billion fee for a permanent spot — to a pay-to-play version of the UN Security Council.
Trump confirmed Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was one of various world leaders invited to join and told reporters of Macron that “nobody wants him” as he will “be out of office very soon”. European Union leaders will hold an emergency summit in Brussels on Thursday to discuss their response to the Greenland crisis, one of the gravest in years to hit transatlantic ties.
Trump has flagged wanting to protect Greenland from perceived Russian and Chinese threats as a key justification for taking over the strategically-located territory, though analysts suggest Beijing is a small player in the region. At a news conference in Davos, Finland’s President Alexander Stubb said “tariff threats at the allied level are unacceptable. They weaken our transatlantic relationship and, in the worst case, can lead to a vicious cycle”. When asked if the United States might use force, Stubb said: “I don’t believe that the United States will take control of Greenland militarily.” Denmark has proposed that NATO start surveillance operations in Greenland to confront security concerns.
Other prominent foreign leaders addressing the WEF on Tuesday include Carney, who has sought to reduce his country’s reliance on the United States as Trump has raised tariffs on Canadian products. As US ties fray, Carney turned the page on years of diplomatic tensions with China during a visit to Beijing last week, securing a preliminary trade agreement to reduce tariffs. Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, whose country has had long-running trade spats with Trump, will also address the WEF.
Other flashpoints on the WEF agenda include the crises in Venezuela, Gaza, Ukraine, and Iran. The United States has sent an unusually large delegation to Davos, in a sign that it wants to make its presence felt at the gathering for global economic and political leaders. Bessent and other US officials will attend panels at the forum’s congress centre but also at the “USA House”, a venue inside an old church on the glitzy promenade of the mountain retreat.
– Laurent THOMET
© 2024 AFP
