Desperate attempt in Trump talks: He doesn't understand

Johan Edgar

Published 00.10

Danish soldiers in Nuuk. Photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen / Scanpix Denmark

Three Swedes.

One Briton.

Two Finns.

And a handful more.

It triggered Donald Trump's fury - and a major crisis between Europe and the US.

They are no more than would fit on a normal-sized city bus.

But their presence has led to another dimension in the crisis surrounding 

Greenland.

After threatening to take control of Greenland "the easy way or the hard way", the conflict has now escalated into a looming trade war between the 

US and EU.

 

Nuuk. Photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen /AP/TT / AP

“Problems of understanding”

When Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni spoke to reporters during a trip to South Korea on Sunday, she had recently spoken by phone with President Trump.

 

Giorgia Meloni. Photo: Andrew Medichini / AP

She said that during the conversation she realized that there was “a problem of understanding” why seven countries, as well as the host country Denmark, had sent military personnel to Greenland in connection with a large-scale exercise.

Meloni stated that the exercise should not be perceived as “anti-American,” 

writes Politico.

And European representatives are careful to emphasize that the exercise in Greenland is about sharpening “NATO’s collective security” – not about showing the United States that it is ready to repel an American invasion.

Trump: Playing a dangerous game

The message has not gone home.

Trump’s anger was unusually great even for a person who is used to speaking – and writing – in capital letters.

Donald Trump. Photo: Alex Brandon /AP/TT / AP

The countries that sent personnel in connection with the Arctic Endurance exercise were accused by the American president of “playing a dangerous game”.

He wrote in an unflattering 

post on Truth Social

 that the eight countries, including Sweden, “traveled to Greenland for unknown reasons” and created a dangerous situation “for the safety, security and survival of our planet”.

Therefore – wrote Donald Trump – the countries will now be punished with tariffs of ten percent on all goods exported to the United States.

Kristopp meeting on Thursday

The sum will be increased to 25 percent on June 1 and will only be removed when the US purchase of the Arctic island is complete.

The president believes that this is being done to ensure world peace.

But the tone between the US and the EU countries is anything but peaceful after this weekend’s crisis.

The European Council has been called for an extraordinary summit on Thursday with all 27 heads of government to try to find a solution to the crisis.

The EU is considering imposing retaliatory tariffs on the US equivalent to almost 1,000 billion kronor, according to sources to the Financial Times (FT).

The proposal for the tariffs is said to have been discussed at Sunday's meeting in Brussels, where ambassadors from the 27 member states participated, the FT reports.

Sent one - punished with tariffs

At the same time, European leaders are trying to get Donald Trump to change his mind about the tariffs.

In addition to Meloni, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also spoke with the American president.

- He said that punishing allies with tariffs for working for NATO's collective security is wrong, says a spokesperson for Starmer.

Keir Starmer. Photo: Jane Barlow /AP/TT / AP

The UK imposed the punitive tariffs for sending an officer to the Arctic Endurance.

Norway and Finland have contributed two officers each.

Preparing for Swedish exercises

According to SVT

, Sweden sent three people.

The Swedes are not participating in the exercise, but are there to prepare for possible Swedish exercises.

– They are looking at geography, accommodation and infrastructure, simply everything that is required for Swedish exercise activities to be conducted in Greenland and in the Arctic. It is information that is not in a binder, so to speak. You have to be on site to be able to collaborate with the colleagues who are there locally, Henrik Nyström of the Armed Forces

 told Aftonbladet on sonday.

France has sent the largest force with 15 soldiers, according to Le Parisien.

Nuuk. Photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen / Scanpix Denmark

Statement to Trump

In addition to Danish soldiers, it seems that there are about forty international participants.

The eight countries that participated in the exercise – Sweden, Norway, Finland, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Denmark – wrote in a joint statement on Sunday that Arctic Endurance “was not a threat to anyone”.

“Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk leading to a dangerous downward spiral. We will continue to stand united and coordinated in our response. We are determined to protect our sovereignty”, it writes, among other things.

Danish soldier in Nuuk. Danish soldier in Nuuk. Photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen / Scanpix Denmark