Washington.- The president Donald Trump indicated in a letter to the Norwegian prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, that after not being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize he “no longer feels the obligation to think solely about peace”.
“Dear Jonas: Given that your country decided not to award me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped eight wars, and more, I no longer feel the obligation to think solely about peace, although it will always be predominant, but now I can think about what is good and appropriate for the United States,” he said in the message.
The Republican leader linked the United States’ expansionist threat toward Greenland to not having received that distinction.
“Denmark is not able to protect that territory against Russia or China, and furthermore, why would there be a supposed ‘right of ownership’? There are no written documents, only the fact that a ship arrived there hundreds of years ago, but we also send ships,” he adds.
In his view, he has done “more for NATO than anyone else since its creation”.
“Now NATO should do something for the United States. The world will not be safe unless we have full and absolute control of Greenland,” he concludes.
Støre confirmed having received a text message from Trump the day before and clarified that it was a response to another that he and the president of Finland, Alexander Stubb, had sent.
“In the message to Trump we explained our stance on the increase of tariffs on Norway, Finland and other countries. We noted the need to de-escalate the exchange of words and asked for a telephone conversation between Trump, Stubb and me throughout the day. Trump’s response arrived shortly after we had sent our message. It was his decision to share it with other NATO leaders,” he said.
Støre stressed that Norway’s position is clear: Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark and support for this is “total”.
“We also support that NATO, in a responsible manner, strengthens its work for security and stability in the Arctic. Regarding the Nobel Peace Prize, I have explained to Trump several times in a clear way what is well known, that it is an independent Nobel Committee and not the Norwegian government that awards the prize,” he stated.
Donald Trump stated emphatically that “for 20 years, NATO has told Denmark that it must eliminate the Russian threat from Greenland. Unfortunately, Denmark has not been able to do so. The time has come, and it will be done,” he wrote on his social network, Truth Social.
Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, urged addressing the Greenland crisis from “calm” and dialogue among allies, including the United States.
“The proper way to address a matter of this gravity is through calm dialogue among allies. Let us be clear: Greenland’s security matters and will be even more important as climate change reshapes the Arctic,” said the British prime minister.
