By Nkiruka Nnorom, with agency reports
British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has said he would not shift ground on his opposition to U.S. President, Donald Trump’s demands to acquire Greenland, noting that the later had reversed his prior support for a Chagos Islands deal to put pressure on Britain.
This even as Trump in his address yesterday to the world leaders at Davos ruled out the use of force in his quest to take control of the Danish Island, and insisted that no other country can secure the territory.
“People thought I would use force, but I don’t have to use force,” Trump said at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Switzerland. “I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.”
Meanwhile, a key group of European Parliament members yesterday blocked a vote to ratify a US-European trade deal following the repeated threat by Trump to impose additional 15 percent tariff on EU members and Britain over their opposition to his Greenland annexation.
Starmer had called for calm discussion on Greenland and indicated on Monday he did not wish to escalate a trade war, after Trump’s threats tariffs.
But, addressing lawmakers, Starmer said it was foolhardy for Trump to rip up relationship with US’ allies.
Starmer has sought close ties with Trump in order to preserve trade and security ties, but in some of his sharpest criticism of Trump, Starmer said he would not be bullied into changing his view that the future of Greenland should be decided by its people and by Denmark.
“I will not yield, Britain will not yield, on our principles and values about the future of Greenland under threats of tariffs, and that is my clear position,” Starmer told lawmakers, adding the Danish prime minister would visit London on tomorrow.
Starmer said that Trump’s criticism of the Chagos Islands deal with Mauritius was because “he wants me to yield on my position, and I’m not going to do so.”
“President Trump deployed words on Chagos yesterday that were different from his previous words of welcome and support. He deployed those words yesterday for the express purpose of putting pressure on me and Britain in relation to my values and principles on the future of Greenland,” he added.
In response to questions from lawmakers urging Starmer to go further in standing against Trump, Starmer said it was still important to work with the U.S. on issues such as Ukraine.
“That does not mean we agree with the U.S. on everything,” he said. “But it is foolhardy to think that we should rip up our relationship with the U.S., abandon Ukraine and so many other things that are important to our defence, security and intelligence.”
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