Alarm Yields To Questions About Deal --- Trump's reversal on Greenland comes with little clarity on what happens next

“President Trump has stepped back from the brink on Greenland. The question now is what happens next.

 

After days of frenzied diplomacy, the U.S. president said on Wednesday that he had "formed a framework for a future deal" on Greenland and that he didn't intend to use force to take control of the icebound island. But details were hazy, and European officials on Thursday seemed to be willing to talk about it only in vague terms, saying only that it would bolster security in the Arctic.

 

The lack of clarity raises the prospect that the chaos of the past few days, which jarred markets and stress-tested trans-Atlantic diplomacy, could return in the near future. When asked on Thursday whether the U.S. would acquire Greenland, Trump didn't completely rule it out. "I don't know if I can say that, but it could be," he told Fox Business. "I mean it's possible, anything is possible. But in the meantime we're getting everything we wanted."

 

In Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, which has been bracing for military action, the head of the government said he was neither consulted on, nor aware of, any deal reached to stave off a crisis with the U.S.

 

"I don't know what there is in the agreement or the deal about my country, over some discussions I didn't attend," Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said.

 

He is leading the island of about 57,000 people through one of the tensest chapters in its modern history. Speaking to a crowded hall of reporters inside an Inuit cultural center, he thanked European allies who have sent troops and warships to Greenland, and called for a permanent presence of North Atlantic Treaty Organization military personnel on Greenland, a Danish territory.

 

On Thursday, Trump suggested on social media that NATO could "come here and protect our Southern Border from further Invasions of Illegal Immigrants."

 

Trump arrived in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday saying he wanted ownership of Greenland for national-security reasons, arguing that Denmark wasn't up to the job of defending the Arctic from Russian or Chinese aggression. He threatened 10% tariffs on European nations that stood in his way and, shortly after arriving at the World Economic Forum, made a speech demanding "immediate negotiations" for control of the island.

 

Hours later, there was an abrupt reversal following a Trump meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, after which the president dropped the threat of tariffs and sounded a conciliatory note.

 

Trump called the framework "really fantastic" but offered few details. "We're getting everything we want at no cost," he said Thursday.

 

After Trump and Rutte met on Wednesday in Davos, the U.S., Denmark, and European allies are preparing to discuss ways to bolster a 75-year-old agreement that gave the U.S. forces leeway to operate in Danish territories.

 

The precise details of the new arrangement will be hammered out by high-level working groups of senior Danish and U.S. officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Officials familiar with discussions said ideas up for debate include: U.S. sovereignty over its own bases in Greenland; an enhanced NATO presence in the Arctic; more U.S. access to critical minerals; and reduced Chinese and Russian activity or regional influence.

 

The biggest sticking point will likely be the sovereignty piece, as Copenhagen insists ceding any portion to the U.S. should be decided solely by Denmark and Greenland -- and the Danish government has said it can't discuss sovereignty.

 

The U.S. could have secured a deal to send more troops and obtain mining rights a year ago when Trump first came to office and without roiling the trans-Atlantic alliance, as Denmark was willing to have those discussions with the U.S. when Trump raised concerns about Greenland during the presidential transition.

 

Denmark, meanwhile, held firm that it wouldn't be strong-armed into ceding sovereignty over any part of Greenland. "We can negotiate on everything political; security, investments, economy. But we cannot negotiate on our sovereignty," Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Thursday.

 

Nielsen said Greenland wasn't willing to hand the U.S. sovereignty over small pockets of territory, such as the bases hosting U.S. forces. The island is, he said, open to closer economic and defense cooperation with Washington. "Let's discuss that in a respectful way," he said, adding, "I will say it again just to be clear. Greenland chooses the Greenland we know today as part of the Kingdom of Denmark."

 

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Carefully Orchestrated Campaign Pays Off

 

President Trump's decision to de-escalate is seen in Europe as a vindication of a carefully orchestrated campaign to publicly remain calm while privately making clear to the U.S. that Danish territorial sovereignty was a red line and that any tariffs would be met with retaliatory measures. The European Union had considered deploying what has become known as the bazooka, a never-before-used trade tool that can impose harsh import and export restrictions if the bloc is faced with economic blackmail.

 

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, speaking in Davos, applauded Trump's U-turn. Under the informal understanding reached between Trump and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, European members of NATO would step up policing of the Arctic to counter Russian influence in the region, Merz said.

 

"We welcome that the United States is taking the threat posed by Russia in the Arctic seriously," he said.” [1]

 

If Mr. Merz touches something, this goes down the drain always.

 

1. World News: Alarm Yields To Questions About Deal --- Trump's reversal on Greenland comes with little clarity on what happens next. Colchester, Max; Trofimov, Yaroslav; Hinshaw, Drew.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 23 Jan 2026: A7.