NATO chief says Arctic security, not US control of Greenland, was focus of Trump talks

After President Donald Trump announced a new Greenland “framework” had been agreed upon with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Mark Rhutte, the NATO chief told Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier” that U.S. taking control of Greenland away from Denmark was not discussed during meetings between him and President Donald Trump in Switzerland during the World Economic Forum.

“That issue did not come up anymore in my conversations with Mr. President. He’s very much focused on what we need to do to make sure that that huge Arctic region, where change is taking place at the moment, where the Chinese and Russians are more and more active, how we can protect that” Rhutte said when pressed on the details of the reported “framework” that has been agreed upon, and that Trump said has resulted in his decision not to impose certain tariffs scheduled to go into effect Feb. 1. 

“That was really the focus of our discussions,” Rhutte insisted.

TRUMP’S ‘SMALL ASK’ FOR GREENLAND WOULD BE THE REAL ESTATE DEAL OF A LIFETIME

Trump announced the new “framework” pertaining to Greenland in a post on his social media site Truth Social Wednesday afternoon while at the World Economic Forum this week. 

“Based upon a very productive meeting that I have had with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region,” the president wrote. “Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st. Additional discussions are being held concerning The Golden Dome as it pertains to Greenland. Further information will be made available as discussions progress.”

Trump noted that Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will lead “the negotiations” and report directly back to him.

TRUMP TELLS DAVOS US ALONE CAN SECURE GREENLAND, INSISTS HE WON’T ‘USE FORCE’

During the exclusive interview with Fox News, Rhutte did call Trump “totally right” about needing to shore up security in the Arctic region, noting that the chance of Russia or China becoming a threat in that region is increasing every day. The NATO Secretary General also praised Trump’s leadership in getting other NATO countries to pay more money to the alliance’s defenses.

“I would argue tonight with you on this program, he was the one who brought a whole of Europe and Canada up to this famous 5%,” Rhutte insisted. “Which is crucial for us to equalize our spending, but also protect ourselves. And this is the framework which you see in his post we will work on.”

Rhutte pointed to increased volatility between NATO-aligned countries and Russia and China during his interview with Fox News Wednesday evening, which Rhutte said underscored the need to shore up security in the Arctic region.

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During the interview, Baier asked whether Rhutte thought other countries were dealing with the Russians and the Chinese differently than they have in the past.

“It’s not up to me to comment on what individual allies are doing in terms of their relationship with China,” Rhutte responded. “I think collectively, as NATO, we have a position. The position is that we should not be naive. I can tell you’ll regret these huge investments the Chinese are making in the military. They are not there to organize parades in Beijing, and the military in Russia are not there to organize parades in Moscow. They are there to be used.”