Donald Trump has suggested America could pull all its troops out of Europe as he again berated Nato allies over their opposition to his ambition to annex Greenland arguing it should be “controlled by the United States”.
The president renewed his criticism and claim to the semi-autonomous Danish territory at the start of a crucial summit of the military alliance in Turkey.
He argues the US needs to take over the mineral-rich Arctic island on national security grounds.
Sir Keir Starmer has previously joined with other European leaders to rally behind fellow Nato member Denmark and insist they would “not stop defending” Greenland’s territorial integrity, fuelling transatlantic tensions.
Responding to a question on the dispute at the meeting in Ankara, Mr Trump said: “That’s what hurt my relationship with Nato, because Greenland doesn’t help Denmark.
“Denmark doesn’t spend money to really help Greenland, but it’s an important part for the United States, and it’s surrounded by China ships and Russian ships, and that’s not going to happen.”
Mr Trump, whose claims of foreign threats to the self-governing island have been challenged, argued it “should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark”.
He added: “And when they wouldn’t go along with it, and with all the money we spend to help them with Russia, and we don’t have to spend any money, we could remove all of our soldiers out of Europe, because, as you probably noticed, Europe’s a very different place than it was 20 years ago, lot different, much different, much different, and they better be careful with immigration and energy.
“If they’re not careful with those two things, you’re not going to have a Europe anymore.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “The future of Greenland is up to the people of Greenland and of Denmark, and not up to the US president.
“I’ve been very clear about that ever since it was first suggested.”
Greenland has been just one of the flashpoints in fraught relations between the US and its Nato partners.
Mr Trump recently launched a fresh onslaught on allies’ defence budgets, claiming Washington was bankrolling other countries “without getting any benefit”.
It came after US defence secretary Pete Hegseth announced a review of American military forces in Europe as he questioned if some members were meeting their spending commitments, claiming they still seemed “to think the era of free-riding is here”.
Tensions had also been inflamed over what Mr Trump viewed as a lack of support by countries for his war against Iran.
It has led the president to cast doubt on America’s commitment to the long-standing Nato alliance, which he has branded “a paper tiger”.
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