'Really good deal for everyone', Trump says Greenland deal framework reached

U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly stepped back on Wednesday (January 21) from threats to impose tariffs as leverage to seize Greenland, ruled out the use of force, and said a deal was in sight to end a dispute over the Danish territory that risked the deepest rupture in transatlantic relations in decades.

On a whirlwind trip to the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Trump backed down from weeks of rhetoric that shook the NATO alliance and risked a new global trade war.

Instead, Trump said, Western Arctic allies could forge a new deal that satisfies his desire for a "Golden Dome" missile‑defense system and access to critical minerals while blocking Russia and China's ambitions in the Arctic.

“It’s a deal that everybody’s very happy with," Trump told reporters after emerging from a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. “It’s a long-term deal. It’s the ultimate long-term deal. It puts everybody in a really good position, especially as it pertains to security and to minerals.”

He added: "It’s a deal that’s forever."

A NATO spokesperson said seven NATO allies in the Arctic would work together to ensure their collective security.

"Negotiations between Denmark, Greenland, and the United States will go forward aimed at ensuring that Russia and China never gain a foothold - economically or militarily - in Greenland," the spokesperson said.

-Dave Graham, Dmitry Zhdannikov, Andrea Rodriguez, Millie McCaughan/Reuters