United States President Donald Trump has intensified his rhetoric over Greenland, declaring that global security is impossible unless the autonomous Danish territory comes under complete US control, a stance that has triggered frantic diplomatic coordination across Europe.

The escalation came overnight, just hours after European leaders began emergency consultations in response to Washington’s decision to impose tariffs on countries most vocal in opposing Trump’s Greenland ambitions.

In a social media post, Trump accused Denmark of failing to protect Greenland from geopolitical threats, insisting that NATO had warned Copenhagen for decades about Russia’s growing interest in the Arctic.

“Nato has been telling Denmark, for 20 years, that you have to get the Russian threat away from Greenland. Unfortunately, Denmark has been unable to do anything about it. Now it is time, and it will be done,” Trump wrote.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reinforced the president’s position in an interview with NBC, contrasting European diplomacy with American assertiveness.

“Europeans project weakness, the US projects strength. The president believes enhanced security is not possible without Greenland being part of the United States,” Bessent said.

In a further escalation, Bessent appeared to link Greenland’s future with continued American support for Ukraine, warning that European security depended entirely on Washington’s commitment.

“The European leaders will come around. They will understand that they need to be under the US security umbrella. What would happen in Ukraine if the US pulled its support out? The whole thing would collapse,” he said.

The Greenland crisis is expected to dominate discussions at an extraordinary European Union summit scheduled for Thursday. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is also expected to address the issue, with an emergency press conference planned for later today.

Meanwhile, Danish and Greenlandic ministers are set to meet NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, one of Trump’s closest European allies. However, Rutte struck a restrained tone after a Sunday night call with the US president, stating only that they discussed “the security situation in Greenland and the Arctic” and would continue talks ahead of a meeting in Davos later this week.

Adding to the controversy, a letter sent by Trump to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre over the weekend has sparked outrage across Europe. In the letter, Trump said he no longer felt obliged to think “purely of peace” after failing to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

“Considering your country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 wars plus, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of peace,” Trump wrote, adding that while peace would remain predominant, he could now focus on what was “good and proper for the United States of America.”

Trump used the letter to double down on his Greenland demand, questioning Denmark’s claim to sovereignty.

“Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China. Why do they have a right of ownership anyway? There are no written documents. It’s only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there also,” he said.

“The world is not secure unless we have complete and total control of Greenland,” Trump added, calling on NATO to act in America’s interest.

Norwegian media confirmed the authenticity of the letter, with Prime Minister Støre’s office telling AFP that it was a response to an earlier message he sent jointly with Finnish President Alexander Stubb.

In a written response, Støre stressed that the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by an independent committee, not the Norwegian government.

“I have clearly explained, including to President Trump, what is well known. The prize is awarded by an independent Nobel Committee,” he said.

Trump had actively campaigned for the Nobel Peace Prize last year, citing his claim of stopping eight wars. The prize was instead awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who later dedicated the award to Trump and reportedly handed over her medal to him during a visit last week.

As diplomatic tensions rise, European leaders are bracing for what could become the most serious transatlantic standoff in years, with Greenland now at the centre of a rapidly unfolding geopolitical crisis.

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