NATO chief says force not discussed in talks on Greenland framework

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has said that the possibility of the United States forcibly taking control of Greenland from Denmark was not discussed during his recent meetings with President Donald Trump, following the announcement of a new “framework” on the Arctic region.

Speaking to Fox News in an interview after the World Economic Forum in Davos, Rutte said the discussions with the US president focused on security challenges in the Arctic, where he warned that Russian and Chinese activity is increasing.

“That issue did not come up anymore in my conversations with Mr. President,” Rutte said when asked about reports that Washington could seek to take control of Greenland. “He's very much focused on what we need to do to make sure that that huge Arctic region, where change is taking place at the moment, where the Chinese and Russians are more and more active, how we can protect that.”

President Trump announced the new Greenland “framework” in a post on his Truth Social platform on 21 January, saying it followed a “very productive meeting” with the NATO chief. He said the understanding had led him to suspend tariffs that were due to take effect on February 1.

“Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st,” Trump wrote, adding that further discussions were under way, including on what he described as “The Golden Dome” as it relates to Greenland.

Trump said Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff would lead the negotiations and report directly to him.

Earlier in the day, Trump had sought to reassure allies that he did not intend to use force. “I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force,” he said at the forum, after suggesting that the US would be “unstoppable” if it chose to do so.

In the Fox News interview, Rutte said Trump was “totally right” to stress the need to strengthen security in the Arctic, arguing that the risk posed by Russia and China in the region was growing. He also praised Trump for pushing NATO allies to increase defence spending.

“I would argue tonight with you on this program he was the one who brought a whole of Europe and Canada up to this famous 5%,” Rutte said, referring to the alliance’s recent commitment to raise defence spending targets over the next decade.

Asked about how individual NATO countries were managing relations with China and Russia, Rutte said the alliance should avoid complacency. “We should not be naive,” he said. “You’ll regret these huge investments the Chinese are making in the military. They are not there to organize parades in Beijing, and the military in Russia are not there to organize parades in Moscow. They are there to be used.”

By Vugar Khalilov