NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says President Donald Trump’s newly announced Greenland “framework” is centered on Arctic security — not any plan for the United States to forcibly take Greenland from Denmark.
In an interview on Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier,” Rutte said the idea of using force never surfaced in his meetings with Trump in Switzerland during the World Economic Forum.
“That issue did not come up anymore in my conversations with Mr. President,” Rutte said, adding that Trump was focused instead on the rapidly changing Arctic environment and the rising activity of China and Russia in the region. “He’s very much focused on what we need to do to make sure that that huge Arctic region… how we can protect that.”
Trump said the agreement was tied to his decision to pause tariffs that had been scheduled to begin Feb. 1.
“That was really the focus of our discussions,” Rutte said.
Trump unveiled the “framework” in a Wednesday afternoon post on his social media platform Truth Social while attending the World Economic Forum. In the post, Trump said the talks produced “the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region,” and that — based on that understanding — he would not move forward with the planned Feb. 1 tariffs. He also said “additional discussions” were underway regarding “The Golden Dome” as it relates to Greenland, and promised more details as negotiations continue.
Trump added that Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and special envoy Steve Witkoff would lead negotiations and report directly to him.
Earlier that morning, Trump also addressed concerns about whether he would use force in connection with Greenland.
“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,” Trump said at the forum. “I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.”
Rutte, for his part, said Trump is “totally right” to emphasize Arctic security, arguing the likelihood of Russia or China becoming a serious threat in the region is growing. He also credited Trump with pushing NATO allies to increase defense spending.
“I would argue tonight with you on this program he was the one who brought a whole of Europe and Canada up to this famous 5%,” Rutte said, calling the spending levels “crucial” for balancing NATO’s capabilities and strengthening collective defense. He said that broader effort is part of the context for the “framework” Trump described.
Rutte was also asked whether he believed some countries are handling Russia and China differently than in the past. He declined to weigh in on specific nations, but stressed NATO’s overall position.
“It’s not up to me to comment on what individual allies are doing in terms of their relationship with China,” he said. “I think collectively, as NATO, we have a position. The position is that we should not be naive… The Chinese are making… huge investments [in] the military… and the military in Russia are not there to organize parades in Moscow. They are there to be used.”
