The American president linked the dispute over Greenland with increasingly harsh criticism of NATO. He blames him for weak support in the conflict with Iran and talks about a paper tiger.
US President Donald Trump said his criticism of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is rooted in the recent dispute over Greenland, in which he has repeatedly expressed interest. Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, which is a member state of NATO. TASR informs about it according to the Politico magazine report.
- Trump criticized NATO over the dispute over Greenland and Iran.
- He declared that he was considering the withdrawal of the US from the Alliance.
- Denmark was preparing plans to defend Greenland against invasion.
Recently, Trump has increasingly criticized the Alliance for its unwillingness to help the United States in its war with Iran. Last week, he even declared that he was seriously considering the withdrawal of the US from NATO, which he called a paper tiger.
“If you want to know the truth, it all started with Greenland,” Trump said Monday night at a White House news conference. “We want Greenland. They don’t want to give it to us. And I said, ‘Come on,'” he claimed.
He threatened to take control
In recent months, the head of the White House has repeatedly threatened to take control of Greenland. The effort to acquire the largest island in the world was justified by the national security of the United States and the alleged presence of China and Russia in the area. But in January, he dropped his threat after he and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced the creation of a framework for a future agreement regarding Greenland and the wider Arctic region.
The dispute, in addition to causing concern across Europe, led Denmark to begin preparing emergency plans in case of a US invasion of the island, according to media reports. Trump used Monday’s press conference to step up his criticism of NATO and accuse its allies of not supporting the US during the war with Iran, according to Politico. “I think this will mark NATO forever,” the US president said, adding that he was “very disappointed” by the lack of support.
Some NATO member states refused to give the US access to military bases on their territory from where the US armed forces wanted to operate in Iran, or they also refused to allow US military aircraft to fly over them. European governments have not even responded to repeated calls to help open the Strait of Hormuz. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is scheduled to meet with Trump, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Washington on Wednesday in an effort to ease tensions.
