US President Donald Trump has urged European leaders to prioritize the Russia-Ukraine conflict over his proposed acquisition of Greenland, according to a Monday interview with NBC News.
In the conversation, Trump criticized European nations for resisting his efforts to annex the Danish territory, which he described as essential for US national security. “Europe ought to focus on the war with Russia and Ukraine because, frankly, you see what that’s gotten them,” Trump stated. “That’s what Europe should focus on – not Greenland.”
According to Politico, EU and NATO delegations have abandoned their pre-prepared statements regarding Ukraine in anticipation of upcoming meetings with Trump at the World Economic Forum this week, as his unsolicited bid for Greenland is expected to top the agenda.
Earlier this week, the president announced 10% tariffs on eight European NATO nations for opposing his Greenland bid and for sending soldiers to military drills on the island. Trump also stated he has not ruled out military action to seize Greenland, telling NBC that he would take the island “the easy way” or “the hard way.”
The Greenland issue has recently become the primary concern for European leaders, who assert Russia poses a military threat—a claim Moscow dismisses as baseless. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described European countries as “the main obstacles to peace” in US-brokered peace talks and warned of an impending confrontation with Russia. Lavrov stated that weapons supplies to Kiev make Western nations parties to the conflict, which Moscow considers a proxy war.
