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Trump says US will not use force to acquire Greenland

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Trump says US will not use force to acquire Greenland



US President Donald Trump on Wednesday ruled out the use of force in his bid to control Greenland, but said in a speech in Davos that no other country can secure the Danish territory.

“People thought I would use force, but I don’t have to use force,” Trump said at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Switzerland. “I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.”

Trump made the comments in a closely-watched economic speech that has been overshadowed by fraying transatlantic ties and tensions with Europe over his push to acquire Greenland.

He downplayed the issue as a “small ask” over a “piece of ice” and that an acquisition would be no threat to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) alliance that includes Denmark and the United States.

“No nation or group of nations is in any position to be able to secure Greenland other than the United States,” Trump said, adding: “I’m seeking immediate negotiations to once again to discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the United States.”

Trump, who marked the end of a turbulent first year in office on Tuesday, is set to overshadow the agenda of the WEF, where global elites chew over economic and political trends.

Nato leaders have warned that Trump’s Greenland strategy could upend the alliance, while the leaders of Denmark and Greenland have offered a wide array of ways for a greater US presence on the strategic island territory of 57,000 people.

“We want a piece of ice for world protection, and they won’t give it,” Trump said in his speech to a congress hall packed with business and political leaders.

In his speech, Trump also took aim at Canada, saying it “should be grateful” to Washington, a day after Prime Minister Mark Carney warned of a rupture to the US-led global system.

“I watched your prime minister yesterday. He wasn’t so grateful,” Trump said of Carney’s speech, which drew a rare standing ovation from the Davos audience.

“Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements,” he added.

The US president said that he would meet with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, to discuss ending the war with Russia, but slammed Nato and stressed Washington had “nothing to do with” the conflict.

“I’m dealing with President Putin, and he wants to make a deal, I believe. I’m dealing with President Zelensky and I think he wants to make a deal. I’m meeting him today,” Trump said, adding that Nato has “to work on Ukraine, we don’t… We have nothing to do with it”.

Zelensky has not confirmed he would travel to Davos and earlier in the week indicated he would skip the forum to stay in Kyiv and deal with widespread blackouts, heating outages and power cuts following Russian strikes.



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Greenland releases ‘crisis’ guidelines as Trump threat looms

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Greenland releases ‘crisis’ guidelines as Trump threat looms


A police officer rides a snowmobile past a large mural depicting a woman and a polar bear on the side of an apartment building in Nuuk, Greenland, on January 21, 2026. — AFP
A police officer rides a snowmobile past a large mural depicting a woman and a polar bear on the side of an apartment building in Nuuk, Greenland, on January 21, 2026. — AFP

Greenland’s government on Wednesday unveiled a new brochure offering advice to the population in the event of a “crisis” in the territory, which US President Donald Trump has repeatedly vowed to seize from ally Denmark.

Guidance includes stockpiling food and water, hunting weapons and ammunition.

The document is “an insurance policy”, said Self-Sufficiency Minister Peter Borg at a press conference in Nuuk, the Greenlandic capital.

“We don’t expect to have to use it,” Borg said.

Trump on Thursday demanded “immediate” talks on his bid to control Greenland but said he would not use military force to take the Arctic Island.

He downplayed the issue as a “small ask” over a “piece of ice” and that an acquisition would be no threat to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) alliance that includes Denmark and the United States.

“No nation or group of nations is in any position to be able to secure Greenland other than the United States,” Trump said, adding: “I’m seeking immediate negotiations to once again to discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the United States.”

Work on the brochure, titled “Prepared for Crises — Be Self-Sufficient for Five Days”, began last year “against a backdrop of power outages of varying duration”, according to the Greenland government.

The guidance recommends storing five days’ worth of food, three litres of water per person per day, toilet paper, a battery-powered radio, plus weapons, ammunition and fishing equipment.

Greenland’s 57,000-strong population — nearly 90% indigenous Inuit people — has long traditions of hunting and fishing as the primary means of subsistence.

On Tuesday, Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said a military operation against Greenland was “unlikely”, but that the Danish autonomous territory must nevertheless be ready.

Since returning to power last year, Trump has repeatedly said he wants to gain control of Greenland to counter Russian and Chinese advances in the Arctic and ensure global stability — the horror of his European and Nato allies.

The US president said on Wednesday in Davos that he “won’t use force” to take the island, while calling for “immediate negotiations” to acquire it.

According to a January 2025 poll, 85% of Greenlanders oppose joining the United States, with only 6% in favour.





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Trump says US will not use force to acquire Greenland

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Trump says US will not use force to acquire Greenland


US President Donald Trump attends the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 21, 2026. — Reuters
US President Donald Trump attends the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 21, 2026. — Reuters
  • Trump downplays Greenland issue as “small ask”.
  • No nation in any position to secure Greenland: Trump.
  • Trump seeks “immediate negotiations” on Greenland.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday ruled out the use of force in his bid to control Greenland, but said in a speech in Davos that no other country can secure the Danish territory.

“People thought I would use force, but I don’t have to use force,” Trump said at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Switzerland. “I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.”

Trump made the comments in a closely-watched economic speech that has been overshadowed by fraying transatlantic ties and tensions with Europe over his push to acquire Greenland.

He downplayed the issue as a “small ask” over a “piece of ice” and that an acquisition would be no threat to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) alliance that includes Denmark and the United States.

“No nation or group of nations is in any position to be able to secure Greenland other than the United States,” Trump said, adding: “I’m seeking immediate negotiations to once again to discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the United States.”

Trump, who marked the end of a turbulent first year in office on Tuesday, is set to overshadow the agenda of the WEF, where global elites chew over economic and political trends.

Nato leaders have warned that Trump’s Greenland strategy could upend the alliance, while the leaders of Denmark and Greenland have offered a wide array of ways for a greater US presence on the strategic island territory of 57,000 people.

“We want a piece of ice for world protection, and they won’t give it,” Trump said in his speech to a congress hall packed with business and political leaders.

In his speech, Trump also took aim at Canada, saying it “should be grateful” to Washington, a day after Prime Minister Mark Carney warned of a rupture to the US-led global system.

“I watched your prime minister yesterday. He wasn’t so grateful,” Trump said of Carney’s speech, which drew a rare standing ovation from the Davos audience.

“Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements,” he added.

The US president said that he would meet with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, to discuss ending the war with Russia, but slammed Nato and stressed Washington had “nothing to do with” the conflict.

“I’m dealing with President Putin, and he wants to make a deal, I believe. I’m dealing with President Zelensky and I think he wants to make a deal. I’m meeting him today,” Trump said, adding that Nato has “to work on Ukraine, we don’t… We have nothing to do with it”.

Zelensky has not confirmed he would travel to Davos and earlier in the week indicated he would skip the forum to stay in Kyiv and deal with widespread blackouts, heating outages and power cuts following Russian strikes.





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Journalists in IIOJK asked by police to sign pledge vowing to keep peace

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Journalists in IIOJK asked by police to sign pledge vowing to keep peace


Indian police officers stand guard outside the police control room in Srinagar, Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmirs (IIOJK), April 23, 2025. — Reuters
Indian police officers stand guard outside the police control room in Srinagar, Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s (IIOJK), April 23, 2025. — Reuters

SRINAGAR: Police in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) have asked at least three journalists working in the disputed region to sign a pledge vowing not to “disturb peace” in the region, two of them told Reuters on Wednesday.

A third journalist, an assistant editor with the Indian Express newspaper, was summoned to a police station in Srinagar, but did not sign the pledge, the newspaper said in a report published on Wednesday.

India has imposed several restrictions in the disputed Himalayan region after revoking its constitutional autonomy in 2019, laying out rules for how the insurgency in the region is covered and reported.

A spokesperson for Srinagar police did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

The Indian Express, one of India’s most respected dailies, said its journalist was summoned four times between January 15 and 19 and asked to sign the pledge on January 16.

“He has not signed the bond as asked by the police. The Indian Express is committed to doing what is necessary to uphold and protect the rights and dignity of its journalists,” the paper’s chief editor, Raj Kamal Jha, said in the report.

Two other journalists Reuters spoke to said they had also been summoned, but one of them was travelling, and the other did not go to the police station. They declined to be named because of the sensitive nature of the issue.

The journalists and the Indian Express said the summons were issued after they reported that police in the occupied valley were seeking information from mosques about their funding, management and budgets.

The Press Club of Kashmir, an association of journalists in the region, said in a statement dated Tuesday that several of its members had been either summoned or advised by police to stop covering stories on the profiling of religious institutions.

“Using police powers to summon journalists over their legitimate reporting is part of a pattern of intimidation against the media in Jammu and Kashmir,” Kunal Majumder, coordinator for the CPJ Asia-Pacific Programme, a non-profit that works for press freedom, said.





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