Trump threatens to withdraw US troops from Europe as Greenland demand reignites NATO tensions
Topics: Donald Trump, Military, World News
Thomas Bamford
Featured Image Credit: Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images
Topics: Donald Trump, Military, World News
Donald Trump has arrived at a major international summit with a stark warning for European allies, reigniting tensions that have been simmering within NATO for the best part of a year.
The US president touched down in Ankara for the NATO summit on Tuesday, using his arrival to suggest his commitment to defending Europe had been tempered by political decisions made by leaders on immigration and energy.
It comes after a difficult 12 months for the alliance, which saw the Iran war expose fresh cracks between member states.
Keir Starmer and other European leaders had been hoping to avoid a repeat of previous public clashes with Trump, particularly over defence spending, with the US president expected to criticise allies, including the UK, for falling behind on the agreed target of hitting 3.5% of GDP by 2035.
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But it was Trump's comments on troop numbers that proved most eye-catching.
The president suggested the US could withdraw its entire military presence from the continent, arguing Europe no longer resembled the ally it once was.
"We don't have to spend any money; we could remove all of our soldiers out of Europe because, as you probably noticed, Europe's a very different place than it was 20 years ago," he said.
"They better be careful with immigration and energy. If they're not careful with those two things, you're not going to have a Europe any more."
Trump also took aim at Starmer directly, suggesting the former prime minister's decision to stay out of the war against Iran had contributed to his political downfall, despite the stance proving popular with the British public at the time.
The US president also revived his controversial push for America to acquire Greenland, a territory belonging to Denmark, a fellow NATO member, claiming the ongoing dispute had damaged his relationship with the alliance.
"It's an important part for the US, and it's surrounded by China ships and Russian ships. It should be controlled by the US, not by Denmark," he said.
In response, Rachel Reeves, the UK chancellor, told reporters: “The future of Greenland is up to the people of Greenland and of Denmark, and not up to the US president. I’ve been very clear about that ever since it was first suggested.”
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen rejected President Donald Trump’s renewed demands that the US should take control of Greenland from NATO ally Denmark, saying that “Greenland is of course not for sale”.
“We hope that all, including all allies, will respect the Greenland people’s right for self-determination,” Ms Frederiksen said ahead of a meeting of the leaders of NATO member countries in Turkey. “We are sovereign states and we need everybody to respect our territorial integrity and our sovereignty.”
Iceland’s Prime Minister, Kristrsn Frostadottir, said Greenland “belongs to the people of Greenland” and called for unity among the NATO allies in the face of external dangers.
“We have threats coming from outside the alliance,” Ms Frostadottir said. “Russia is their biggest threat when it comes to these NATO allies. We need to focus on us and how we stick together.”
In response to ongoing uncertainty over America's commitment, the UK is set to lead a £37 billion European project developing a long-range missile capable of striking deep behind Russian lines, working alongside France, Germany and the Baltic states.