A top NATO official said the organization is working with Donald Trump to ‘implement his vision’ on not just Greenland but the future of ‘the whole Arctic region.’
The president dramatically scrapped tariffs on eight European countries as he announced a breakthrough agreement with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte for the territory on Wednesday evening.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that he and Rutte ‘had formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region.
‘This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations.’
NATO said in a statement that ‘negotiations between Denmark, Greenland and the United States will go forward aimed at ensuring that Russia and China never gain a foothold – economically or militarily – in Greenland.’
Rutte told Fox News’ Special Report with Bret Baier Wednesday that Danish sovereignty over the territory wasn’t talked about in meetings with Trump.
‘We basically discussed how can we implement the president’s vision on protecting, yes, Greenland, but of course this – not only Greenland – this whole Arctic,’ he said.
Rutte said NATO wants ‘everything needed on land, sea and air’ to protect the Arctic and admitted ‘there’s a lot of work to be done’ to get there.
Donald Trump (right) announced he struck a deal with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (left) in Davos today to halt tariffs in Europe amid a breakthrough in Greenland negotiations
Trump said Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff – the latter two of whom were at the meeting – were ‘responsible for the negotiations’ regarding Greenland and NATO
The announcement followed a meeting where top NATO military officers discussed an arrangement where Denmark would cede ‘small pockets of Greenlandic’ territory to the US where it could build bases, senior officials told The New York Times.
The agreement was compared by the sources to UK military bases in Cyprus which are treated as sovereign British territories.
Trump did not immediately give details of the deal but said NATO would work with the US to build his Golden Dome missile defense system and share mineral rights.
‘They’re going to be involved in the Golden Dome, and they’re going to be involved in mineral rights, and so are we,’ Trump told CNBC.
When asked how long the agreement would last, the president said: ‘Forever.’
Trump said ‘additional discussions’ were ongoing regarding Greenland and that Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff were ‘responsible for the negotiations.’
Trump told reporters in Davos on Wednesday that the deal will be ‘put out pretty soon.’
‘It gets us everything we needed to get,’ he insisted, adding: ‘It’s a deal that everybody’s very happy with.’
Trump gave a more tempered approach at the World Economic Forum in Davos today, claiming: ‘I won’t use force. All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland’
Vance visited the Pituffik Space Base in Greenland last year, as Trump made it clear early in his second term his intentions of pushing for the acquisition of the Arctic island
In his speech at the World Economic Forum, Trump pledged that he would not seize Greenland by force, walking back his bellicose rhetoric over the weekend.
‘I don’t have to use force, I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force,’ he vowed. ‘All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland.’
The stock market bounced back immediately after crashing on Tuesday over his tariff threats, although they are still in the red for the week.
The Dow surged by 1.2 percent, the S&P 500 gained 1.16 percent and the Nasdaq advanced 1.18 percent.
Trump on Saturday threatened Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland with a 10 percent tariff starting on February 1 after they sent troops to Greenland.
Since starting his second-term, the president has suggested the US should acquire Greenland to stop Russia and China from taking over strategic positioning in the Artic region.
The Danish territory provides strategic access to the Arctic, where China and Russia have, in recent years, flexed their geopolitical might as the melting polar ice provides greater access to shipping lanes and natural resources.
Greenland, which houses NATO military bases, is also rich in oil, gold, graphite, copper, iron, and other rare earth elements.
The Trump administration believes Greenland could provide infrastructure for the proposed Golden Dome missile defense system to protect North America from ballistic threats.
Greenland’s rare earth minerals and fossil fuels would be essential for America to decouple its reliance on Chinese supply chains.
