Trump-Greenland latest: US president to arrive in Davos after sending ominous message on plans to obtain territory

The Independent’s political editor David Maddox writes:

Keir Starmer had earned a reputation as “the Trump whisperer” internationally but the US president’s words on the Chagos islands suggest that things are going wrong.

When they first met after the inauguration in February last year, it appeared that Sir Keir could get whatever he wanted from Donald Trump – a trade deal, agreement on Chagos and the UK/ US Diego Garcia airbase, and more.

Now the president has decided the Chagos deal was “completely stupid” as the row over his desire to cede Greenland from Denmark escalated.

Trump has not taken the UK’s support for Denmark well at all and the threat of tariffs now seems to be a first step in a relationship that is completely unraveling leaving the prime minister badly exposed.

The US plans to reduce the number of Nato personnel in key command centers, a move that could intensify concerns in Europe about Washington’s commitment to the alliance, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters news agency.

As part of the move, which the Trump administration has communicated to some European capitals, the US will eliminate roughly 200 positions from the Nato entities that oversee and plan the alliance’s military and intelligence operations, said the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss private diplomatic conversations.

Among the bodies that will be affected, said the sources, are the UK-based Nato Intelligence Fusion Centre and the Allied Special Operations Forces Command in Brussels. Portugal-based STRIKFORNATO, which oversees some maritime operations, will also be cut, as will several other similar Nato entities, the sources said.

The sources did not specify why the U.S. had decided to cut the number of staff dedicated to the Nato roles, but the moves broadly align with the Trump administration’s stated intention to shift more resources toward the Western Hemisphere.

The Washington Post first reported the decision.

Donald Trump has departed Washington, DC and is now en route to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he will meet with European leaders.

The US president said he has “a lot of meetings scheduled on Greenland” – and that he believed the US and Nato would make a deal which would make everyone “very happy”.

Most major European leaders are set to be in Davos, but Downing Street is yet to confirm whether British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer will attend.

Donald Trump was asked about Greenland by a reporter, who noted that the population of Greenland has made clear their opposition to a US takeover.

The US president says that, when he speaks to the Greenlanders, he is “sure they are going to be thrilled”.

There is “no alternative” but to suspend the EU-US trade deal because of threats over Greenland, a German member of the European Parliament has said.

“By threatening the territorial integrity and sovereignty of an EU Member State and by using tariffs as a coercive instrument, the US undermines the stability and predictability of EU–US trade relations,” Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade, told BBC News.

Mr Lange’s committee will need to approve the deal before it is confirmed. Negotiators in Washington and Brussels have been finalising the details for months, of a deal which was first struck between European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and US president Donald Trump in July.

“The European Parliament is clear in a unshakable commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Denmark and Greenland,” Mr Lange added.

From Greenland to Venezuela, Iran to Ukraine, Donald Trump has shaken the world and reshaped global alliances to shore up a new world order under three kings, explains world affairs editor Sam Kiley:

The United States and Nato will come to an agreement on the future of Greenland that will satisfy both sides, US president Donald Trump told a press conference on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, Trump had said there was “no going back” on his goal to control Greenland, refusing to rule out taking the Arctic island by force.

“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, but we need it for security purposes,” he said, adding that the alliance would not be very strong without the United States.

EU leaders will discuss their options for responding to Trump’s threat of tariffs at an emergency summit in Brussels on Thursday.

One option is a package of tariffs on 93 billion euros ($108 billion) of US imports that could automatically kick in on 6 February after a six-month suspension.

Another option is the “Anti-Coercion Instrument” (ACI), which has never yet been used and which could limit access to public tenders, investments or banking activity or restrict trade in services.

The EU said it was continuing to engage “at all levels” with the US but said the use of its ACI was not off the table.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for calm discussion between the allies, adding he did not believe Trump was considering military action to seize Greenland.