LEILA FADEL, HOST:
European leaders meet in Brussels tonight for a summit that was called urgently as a reaction to President Trump's previous statements about possible military action to take Greenland, the semiautonomous Danish territory.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Trump also had said he would impose new tariffs on countries that opposed him. But then the president spoke Wednesday in Davos.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We probably won't get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force, where we would be, frankly, unstoppable. But I won't do that.
MARTÍNEZ: He ruled out military force in an otherwise threatening speech. And on Wednesday, he said that a long-term agreement on Greenland had been reached and that it would be good for everybody. In a few moments, we'll discuss this with a former U.S. ambassador to Denmark. But first, let's get the latest.
FADEL: Teri Schultz joins us from Brussels to discuss European reaction and what happens next. Good morning, Teri.
TERI SCHULTZ, BYLINE: Hi Leila.
FADEL: OK, so do we know any details of this long-term agreement?
SCHULTZ: We really don't know the details yet. And I've been scanning Danish media this morning and there are a lot of questions being raised there. It's just been hours since we got word that there'd been a compromise at all after this fiery speech by President Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. And he hadn't indicated any such thing was coming.
So while the details haven't been made public, there are reports in The New York Times, for example, that it could include giving the U.S. sovereignty over small pieces of Greenlandic territory, perhaps for building up more military bases there, possibly for participation in the eventual Golden Dome missile defense system. Now, Leila, the U.S. already has the right to expand its military presence under existing agreements with Greenland and Denmark, but the land on which these bases would sit does not belong to the U.S. under current arrangements. And ownership has been such a big issue for Trump, and he repeated that multiple times in Davos. Let's listen to one example.
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TRUMP: All we're asking for is to get Greenland, including right, title and ownership, because you need the ownership to defend it. You can't defend it on a lease.
SCHULTZ: So Trump's obvious satisfaction with the compromise indicates it could very well include some limited transfer of land ownership. And it's also expected to address U.S. access to mineral rights.
FADEL: How are European leaders reacting to the developments in Davos?
SCHULTZ: Well, there's definitely the feeling of being able to breathe a bit more easily after Trump walked back these threats of military force and imminent tariffs, which have been a feature of daily discussion here in Brussels recently. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen summed up Wednesday by saying it ended better than it started, as there'd been so much apprehension about what might happen in Davos.
FADEL: Now, we've seen protests in Denmark and Greenland against Trump's ambitions. Is this new framework something their governments are likely to accept, or as much as we know about it?
SCHULTZ: Yeah, we're getting some early reactions from Danish and Greenlandic leaders now. And their comments are reinforcing the fact that the details of this deal, as we discussed, are very slim. Denmark's prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, has issued a statement now underscoring that things like security, investment and economy can be discussed politically, but not sovereignty - that, quote, "only Denmark and Greenland can make decisions on issues relating to Denmark and Greenland."
So it's quite interesting that these talks in Davos were not led by Danes and Greenlanders but by the NATO secretary general, Mark Rutte. Rutte is known for his constant flattery of Trump and the two get along well. But a Greenlandic member of Parliament has already written on social media that, quote, "NATO in no way has a mandate to negotiate without Greenland."
FADEL: That's Teri Schultz reporting in Brussels. Thank you, Teri.
SCHULTZ: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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