US President Donald Trump criticized Denmark on Monday (19) for not having “eliminated” the “Russian threat” from Greenland and said the time had come to do so.
“For 20 years, NATO has told Denmark that it must eliminate the Russian threat from Greenland. Unfortunately, Denmark has failed. The time has come, and it will be done,” he declared in Truth Social.
The Republican leader has been emphasizing for weeks that the US must take control of the island “at any cost”, with the supposed aim of preventing China or Russia from occupying the territory first.
On Saturday, he also threatened to impose 10% tariffs from February 1 on goods from Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Finland and Denmark – NATO members who have sent troops to Greenland – as a pressure tactic to force them to support his annexation plans. This percentage could rise to 25% from June onwards, if they persist in their position.
This led European Council President António Costa to say on Sunday that he would call member states to an extraordinary meeting “in the coming days” to “further coordinate” the bloc’s response to the announced tariffs.
This Monday, a spokeswoman for the president of the European Council informed that the heads of state and government of the European Union (EU) will meet next Thursday (22) in Brussels, at 7pm (3pm Brasília), to discuss a joint response to US attempts to take control of Greenland.
