Trump-Greenland latest: US president claims deal will give him ‘total access’ as Danish PM visits island

John Healey said today that British troops killed in Afghanistan should be remembered as heroes after Donald Trump sparked fury with comments that Nato allies “stayed a little back … off the front lines” during the war.

“NATO’s Article 5 has only been triggered once. The UK and NATO allies answered the US call. And more than 450 British personnel lost their lives in Afghanistan,” the defence secretary wrote on social media.

“Those British troops should be remembered for who they were: heroes who gave their lives in service of our nation.”

Denmark’s foreign minister revealed on Friday that diplomats from Denmark and the United States met in Washington yesterday to set out next steps in negotiations.

“We will not communicate when those (future) meetings are, because what is needed now is to take the drama out of this … we need a calm process,” said foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen.

A well placed source said on Thursday that Rutte and Trump had agreed on updating a 1951 agreement that governs US military access and presence on the Arctic island.

Keir Starmer told his Danish counterpart on Thursday Trump’s decision not to pursue tariffs was a pragmatic step.

“In terms of recent developments and the withdrawal of the threat of tariffs, I see that as a reflection of pragmatism, common sense and sticking to our values and our principles,” Starmer told Mette Frederiksen.

Frederiksen said Britain was one of Denmark’s oldest and most important allies and partners and thanked Starmer for his support.

“I like the British way of doing things… You have a cup of tea and then you think a bit about everything, you get the facts on the table, and then you find a way forward, and that’s exactly what we’re doing now,” she told Starmer at the start of their meeting at Chequers, the British prime minister’s country residence.

“I think we’ve got to get by with a little help from our friends.”

Nato secretary general Mark Rutte said on Friday that he and Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen were working together on Arctic security in Brussels.

“We’re working together to ensure that the whole of NATO is safe & secure and will build on our cooperation to enhance deterrence & defence in the Arctic,” he wrote on social media.

“Denmark continues to make robust contributions to our shared security and is ramping up investment to do even more!”

European shares fell on Friday and were on course to snap their longest run of weekly gains since May, as investors weighed the potential fallout from the latest flare-up in trade tensions linked to Greenland.

The pan-European STOXX 600 .STOXX edged 0.2% lower by 0803 GMT, poised to snap a five-week winning streak. The benchmark index has lost 1% so far this week.

Markets were jolted this week by U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to implement tariffs on eight European countries until Washington is allowed to buy Greenland.

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she will travel to Nuuk later on Friday to meet with Greenland’s prime minister.

Donald Trump backed down from threatening Greenland because the UK stood up for the island’s sovereignty, David Lammy told the BBC.

The deputy prime minister said that Trump had “responded to our concerns” about using force or imposing tariffs to take control of the Danish territory.

“Let’s remember what has actually happened. Donald Trump stepped back from any suggestion of force, and he stepped back from the use of tariffs,” he told Nick Robinson’s Political Thinking.

“Why? Because his close friend the United Kingdom and European partners expressed their displeasure, and he has stepped back.

“What’s really gone on is actually our great ally, the United States, despite the noise, has responded to our concerns.”

Sir Keir Starmer said world leaders can now “get on with the job” of protecting Greenland after Donald Trump dropped his tariff threats.

The prime minister and his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen met at Chequers on Thursday, a day after the US president dropped tariff threats against European nations opposed to his ambitions to take over the mineral-rich island.

Speaking after the meeting, Sir Keir told broadcasters: “Today, we actually start the hard work of making sure that security in the Arctic is enhanced.”

He added: “What’s now happened is good in the sense the threat of tariffs has gone, and now we can get on with the job of rolling up our sleeves and answering the question, how do we improve security in the Arctic?”

Aaja Chemnitz, a Greenlandic member of parliament, told The Independent of the recent ‘framework’ hashed out between Nato and Donald Trump: “Nato has no mandate to make deals about Greenland.”

In Greenland, we have a saying, which is: ‘Nothing about us without us’. This applies to Nato matters as well.

“All decisions concerning Greenland are to be decided by Naalakkersuisut, government of Greenland.”

France’s foreign minister said on BFM TV this morning that France still has no details on the deal reached between Donald Trump and Mark Rutte on Greenland.