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During an unexpected appearance at the White House briefing room on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump said only “you’ll find out”, when asked how far he was willing to go to seize Greenland.
At the same time, Trump remained confident NATO allies “will work something out”, ahead of his departure for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“I think that we will work something out where NATO is going to be very happy, and where we’re going to be very happy,” he said, without providing specifics.
“We have a lot of meetings scheduled on Greenland, and I think things are going to work out pretty well,” Trump told reporters about his Davos meetings.
His comments came despite European leaders’ steadfast resolve in their defence of the Danish territory in recent days.
Over the weekend, Trump vowed fresh tariffs on European countries including Britain, France and Germany which sent troops to Greenland in solidarity.
He dismissed suggestions that he was putting at risk a deal last year with the EU in which the allies promised to ramp up investment in the United States, saying “They need that agreement very badly with us.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pushed back against Trump’s threats, vowing that the EU’s response “will be unflinching, united and proportional,” as she spoke in Davos on Tuesday.
Taking firmer stances defied the approach that many European leaders have offered since Trump returned to office, mostly appeasing the president to try to stay in his good graces, while working furiously through other avenues to find compromise.
Trump says the US needs Greenland to deter possible threats from China and Russia. But his continued insistence in recent weeks that anything short of the US owning Greenland is unacceptable is testing the limits of the softer strategy.
Meanwhile, Trump’s plane, Air Force One, returned to Joint Base Andrews about an hour after departing for Switzerland on Tuesday evening.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the decision to return was made after takeoff when the crew aboard Air Force One identified “a minor electrical issue” and, out of an abundance of caution, decided to turn around.
A reporter on board said the lights in the press cabin of the aircraft went out briefly after takeoff, but no explanation was immediately offered. About half an hour into the flight reporters were told the plane would be turning around.
Trump will board another aircraft and continue on with his trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Additional sources • AP