NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says the status of Greenland did not arise in his talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, as Trump stepped back from tariff threats and ruled out using force to take control of the territory.
Mark Rutte said on Wednesday that the question of whether Greenland would remain with Denmark "did not come up" in his meeting with President Donald Trump.
He made the remarks in an interview on Fox News' Special Report with Bret Baier, hours after Trump abruptly shifted tone on the dispute.
Earlier in the day, Trump moved away from threats to impose tariffs as leverage to seize the island, ruled out the use of military force and said a deal was close to ending the standoff over the Danish territory.
After meeting Rutte, he said Western Arctic allies could reach a framework that would satisfy U.S. aims for a "Golden Dome" missile-defence system and secure access to critical minerals, while stopping Russia and China from expanding their Arctic ambitions.
Trump has previously argued that Washington must own Greenland to prevent either power from gaining influence over the strategically located and minerals-rich island, which houses a U.S. airbase and is an autonomous part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
Rutte was asked in the Fox News interview whether Greenland would still be "under the Kingdom of Denmark in this framework deal".
"That issue did not come up anymore in my conversations tonight with the president," Rutte explained.
He said Trump was focused on how to protect "that huge Arctic region" amid what he described as growing Russian and Chinese activity.
Greenland and Denmark have repeatedly said the island is not for sale. Both countries are NATO members.
Trump’s broader foreign policy has been cast by some experts as imperialist in nature, reflecting concerns that his approach to Greenland is part of a wider strategic push.
European diplomats said Trump’s shift in tone eased some immediate tension but did not resolve the dispute, warning that allies still faced difficult negotiations over Greenland.
Denmark said the matter should be handled through private diplomacy, with Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen stressing the need for “respect for the integrity and sovereignty of the kingdom and the right of the Greenlandic people to self-determination”.
Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares urged the European Union to move towards a joint army as a deterrence measure, saying “a joint effort would be more efficient than 27 separate national armies” and that Europe “will not let itself be coerced militarily or economically”.
Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov has moved swiftly to consolidate his authority following the dismissal of his long-time ally Kamchybek Tashiev, head of...
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards navy held military exercises in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday (16 February), state-linked media reported. The drill too...
A man accused of carrying out Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in nearly three decades appeared briefly in a Sydney court on Monday (16 February)...
The 2026 Munich Security Conference (MSC) unfolded over three intense days in Munich, confronting a defining question of our era: has the post-Second ...
ByteDance will take steps to prevent the unauthorised use of intellectual property on its artificial intelligence (AI) video generator Seedance 2.0, t...
France and Canada opened new consulates in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, on Friday, stepping up their Arctic presence in a show of support for Denmark, a NATO ally, amid renewed demands by U.S. President Donald Trump to acquire the strategically located territory.
Greenland registered its warmest January on record, sharpening concerns over how fast-rising Arctic temperatures are reshaping core parts of the island’s economy.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States has begun negotiations with European leaders over Greenland and that an agreement is already taking shape.
“This is a strategic wake-up call for all of Europe” French President Emmanuel Macron warned on Wednesday, 28 January, as he hosted Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland’s premier, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, in Paris to reaffirm France’s support for Greenland’s sovereignty.
U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said China has the power to bring an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, arguing that Beijing is enabling Moscow’s military campaign.
Austria’s Janine Flock won the gold medal in the women’s skeleton event at the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics on Saturday.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani said the United States could evaluate its own interests separately from those of Israel in ongoing negotiations between Tehran and Washington.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday (15 February) called it “troubling” a report by five European allies blaming Russia for killing late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny using a toxin from poison dart frogs.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that Russia’s decision to change the leadership of its delegation for upcoming peace talks in Geneva appeared to be an attempt to delay progress.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards navy held military exercises in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday (16 February), state-linked media reported. The drill took place a day before renewed nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington in Geneva.
A man accused of carrying out Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in nearly three decades appeared briefly in a Sydney court on Monday (16 February), facing terrorism and murder charges over the 14 December attack on a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach that left 15 people dead.
The 2026 Munich Security Conference (MSC) unfolded over three intense days in Munich, confronting a defining question of our era: has the post-Second World War international order collapsed - and if so, what will replace it?
The United States has carried out its first air transport of a nuclear microreactor on a cargo plane, flying the unit from California to Utah in a demonstration designed to show the technology can be rapidly deployed for military and civilian use.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 16th of February, covering the latest developments you need to know.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment