Donald Trump today ratcheted up the pressure on Nato over Greenland in a message to Norway’s Prime Minister warning that he ‘no longer feels an obligation to think purely of peace’ because he was denied the Nobel Peace Prize.
The US President again demanded Greenland is handed to America because Denmark can’t protect it from Russia and China in a letter to Jonas Gahr Støre, according to the Norwegian press.
‘I have done more for Nato than any other person since its founding, and now, Nato should do something for the United States’, he reportedly said, adding: ‘The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland’.
It came as British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer held a Downing Street press conference where he branded Donald Trump’s trade war threats over Greenland ‘completely wrong’.
‘A tariff war isn’t in anybody’s interests and what I want to do is avoid a tariff war. I will speak to Trump again in the coming days. We must find a pragmatic solution to this’, he said.
Asked if he genuinely believed the US President was considering military action to take Greenland, Sir Keir told reporters: ‘I don’t, actually’.
He spoke hours after a leaked letter revealed the US President took the extraordinary step of linking his wish to seize Greenland to not being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, which he has repeatedly said that he ‘deserves’.
Mr Trump was responding to a note from Norwegian PM Støre, who had expressed his opposition to his proposal to impose export tariffs on those willing to defend the island, including Norway and the UK.
‘Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America’, Mr Trump reportedly said.
The leaked note went on: ‘Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a “right of ownership” anyway? There are no written documents. It’s only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there’.
Norwegian tabloid VG claims to have spoken to Mr Støre who confirmed the letter is genuine. The PM also said he has told Mr Trump repeatedly that it is ‘well known’ that the Norwegian government does not decide who wins the Nobel Peace Prize.
The letter was leaked as it was also revealed:
Donald Trump has shocked NATO allies with a letter to Norway’s PM Jonas Gahr Støre where he said he ‘no longer feels an obligation to think purely of peace’ because ‘your country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize’
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer delivers a statement in the media briefing room of Downing Street in central London, after US president Donald Trump’s threats to ramp up tariffs until a deal is reached for the US to buy Greenland
People bear Greenlandic flags and placards that read ‘Greenland Is Not For Sale’ as they gather in front of the US consulate to protest against President Donald Trump plans for Greenland on January 17, 2026 in Nuuk, Greenland
The bombshell letter to the Norwegian PM was reportedly written by Trump and then forwarded to multiple European ambassadors in Washington by National Security Council staff.
It was also leaked to PBS in the US.
Such was the panic the letter and its language caused this morning, there were concerns that it might be fake.
But Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre confirmed it was genuine.
He told VG: ‘I can confirm that this is a message I received yesterday afternoon from President Trump.
‘It came in response to a short message to President Trump from me earlier in the day, on behalf of myself and the President of Finland, Alexander Stubb.
‘In our message to Trump, we conveyed our position against his increased tariffs on Norway, Finland and other selected countries.
‘We pointed out the need to de-escalate the exchange and requested a phone call between Trump, Stubb and me during the day.
‘The response from Trump came only shortly after we had sent the message. It was Trump’s choice to share the message with other leaders in NATO countries’.
He added: ‘Regarding the Nobel Peace Prize, I have repeatedly clearly explained to Trump what is well known, namely that it is an independent Nobel Committee, and not the Norwegian government, that awards the prize’.
Asked about what she thought of the letter, Guhild Hoogensen Gjørv, professor of security at the Arctic University of Norway called it ‘blackmail’.
She said: ‘He is convinced that he can gag European countries. He is willing to carry out blackmail against them. That is why it is more important than ever that Norway and Europe stand together’.
It came after Keir Starmer last night confronted Donald Trump over his extraordinary threat to seize Greenland.
In an unprecedented rebuke amid warnings Nato was ‘heading for disaster’, he told the US President his proposal to impose tariffs on those willing to defend the island was ‘wrong’.
The confrontation came after Western leaders warned Mr Trump he risked a ‘dangerous downward spiral’ in relations, adding that their new Arctic mission posed ‘no threat to anyone’.
But a Cabinet minister dismissed demands for the UK to hit back by cancelling the King’s planned state visit to America in the spring.
As a deepening crisis threatens the future of Nato, European leaders are considering deploying their so-called trade ‘bazooka’ for the first time in retaliation, an economic tool that would hit the US with £81billion in tariffs.
The ‘big bazooka’ is an anti-coercion instrument adopted in 2023 to combat political blackmail.
It allows the EU to restrict countries from participating in public tenders, limit trade licences and shut off access to the single market.
But there was no sign of the White House backing down, with one key figure blasting Europe as too weak to defend itself.
The pair were said to have a cordial working relationship, with the PM praised by for his delicate handling of Mr Trump – and the US President suggesting last year that Starmer had done a ‘very good job thus far’ as Prime Minister. However, the political fallout from the Greenland row remains to be seen
Last night a senior UK Government figure told the Daily Mail: ‘I have never seen anything like this. Our adversaries will be rubbing their hands with joy. We are heading towards a disaster.’
President Trump has long sought to obtain Greenland, a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, to boost the US’s security – believing it is at risk of invasion by China.
He has increasingly raised the prospect of military invasion – then at the weekend he turned against the European countries that have defended the huge island’s independence.
On his Truth Social platform, the President declared that, from February 1, the US would impose a 10 per cent tariff on all exports from Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK – increasing it to 25 per cent in June.
‘This tariff will be due and payable until such time as a deal is reached for the complete and total purchase of Greenland.’
There was immediate condemnation from around the world, including across the political spectrum in Britain, where Sir Keir branded the proposals ‘completely wrong’.
Yesterday he went further by giving his message directly to the President, who spent the weekend at his golf course in Florida.
A Downing Street spokesman said: ‘The Prime Minister spoke to the prime minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen; president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen; and Nato secretary general Mark Rutte. He then spoke to President Trump.
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Danish soldiers in uniform disembark at the harbor in Nuuk, Greenland on January 18, 2026
‘In all his calls, the Prime Minister reiterated his position on Greenland. He said that security in the High North is a priority for all Nato allies in order to protect Euro-Atlantic interests.
‘He also said that applying tariffs on allies for pursuing the collective security of Nato allies is wrong.’ Sir Keir is expected to try to lobby Mr Trump in person at the Davos summit this week.
The eight countries facing the tariff hit – which experts fear could drive Britain into recession with a £6billion cost to exporters – issued a statement condemning Mr Trump’s threats and defending a military exercise in Greenland that is thought to have angered him.
It said: ‘As members of Nato, we are committed to strengthening Arctic security as a shared transatlantic interest. The pre-coordinated Danish exercise Arctic Endurance conducted with allies responds to this necessity. It poses no threat to anyone.
‘We stand in full solidarity with the Kingdom of Denmark and the people of Greenland. Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.’
Ms Frederiksen added: ‘Europe will not be blackmailed. We want to co-operate and we are not the ones seeking conflict.’
But US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said: ‘Europeans project weakness, US projects strength.
‘The President believes enhanced security is not possible without Greenland being part of the US.’
Former head of the diplomatic service Lord McDonald told the BBC: ‘If there were any kind of clash between the Americans and Europeans over Greenland, that would be the end of Nato.
‘There’s no way back, when one ally turns against another militarily.’
Tory MP Simon Hoare said: ‘The upcoming state visit of HM The King to the US must now be cancelled.
‘The civilised world can deal with Trump no longer. He is a gangster pirate.’
But Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy dismissed the idea, telling Sky News: ‘It just sounds a bit childish because people’s jobs and lives depend on us being able to have a serious conversation with our counterparts on either side of the Atlantic.’
