Trump Announces Greenland ‘Future Deal’ After NATO Talks, Pauses Tariffs

Welcome back to Foreign policySituation Report, where it’s Rishi’s turn to fly solo (with the help of our colleague Christina Lo) while John takes a well-earned vacation.

Speaking of flying, US President Donald Trump’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos may have been delayed slightly due to an apparent malfunction on Air Force One, but it wowed attendees at the Swiss mountain resort.

In that regard, here’s what’s on offer for today: Trump makes Greenland’s confusing declarationcontroversial Peace Council is forming, and Israeli strike It kills more Journalists.

In what has become a familiar pattern, Trump (dramatically) escalates his campaign to acquire Greenland and then (suddenly) de-escalates hours later – a cycle he has dubbed “Taco,” or Trump always staying away from chicken.

The relief came in a late-night Truth Social post in which Trump said he had “formed a framework for a future agreement with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic region” in a “very productive meeting” with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

Trump said he would delay imposing his threatened tariffs against European countries that strongly opposed his attempt to seize Greenland pending the proposed deal, which the US president said would be great “if it goes through.” He added that US officials would also discuss the “Golden Dome project in relation to Greenland,” referring to the multi-billion-dollar missile defense system he proposed for the United States.

The shift came after Trump spoke extensively about Greenland during an hour-long speech in Davos, saying he wanted the United States to be given “right, title and ownership” over Danish territory. While he said he would not use force to get what he repeatedly described as “a piece of ice” (nor Iceland), he warned European countries: “You can say no and we will remember.”

With that standoff over, Trump quickly moved on to other items on the Davos agenda, creating a controversial “peace council” for Gaza (more on that below) and meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

But Greenland remains unstable, with unanswered questions.

What’s in the deal? According to multiple initial reports, Trump’s conversation with Rutte focused largely on the possibility of renegotiating the 1951 treaty between Denmark and the United States that allows US troops to be stationed in Greenland — something Trump indirectly referenced in his speech when he said Washington was “stupid” when it returned the territory to Denmark after World War II.

Other items reportedly discussed include an enhanced NATO presence in the Arctic and US access to vital mineral reserves in Greenland, but details regarding each remain unclear. The framework agreement is said to remain only verbal, and a written document has not yet been prepared.

Who makes the deal? While Rutte (of “The Father” fame) has continued to act as Trump’s chief whisperer in Europe for months, Greenland is technically not his to negotiate. “There were no negotiations with NATO yesterday regarding our sovereignty,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Thursday. “This is an issue that concerns us alone, and we do not intend to abandon the basic principles of democracy and politics.”

What will happen next? Frederiksen acknowledged that Denmark continues to “engage in a dialogue with the Americans about security,” and that both sides agree on the desire to prevent further Russian and Chinese investments in Greenland. Danish officials will now negotiate with Washington, which Trump said will be represented by Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and special envoy Steve Witkoff, among others.

But Trump has already begun to pivot toward victory. “Basically, it’s full access, there’s no end, there’s no time limit,” he told Fox Business. “I won’t have to pay anything.”

What should be on your radar, if it isn’t already.

Peace Council. Trump’s so-called peace council has been officially formed. The US president has now asked dozens of world leaders to participate in his invitation-only coalition, which he first introduced last September as part of his Gaza peace plan, but which has since become more expansive in scope and goals. The Council’s charter now calls on the coalition to “secure lasting peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict” and endorses the creation of a “smarter and more effective international peacebuilding body.” New York Times I mentioned.

“This is not the United States. This is for the world,” Trump declared at the charter signing ceremony in Davos on Thursday. “I think we can expand it to other things when we succeed in Gaza.”

Under the charter, Trump will be the first president of the peace council, with veto power over most decisions. Member states’ terms are limited to three years (“subject to renewal by the President”) unless they can raise $1 billion in the first year to secure a permanent seat.

The coalition’s broad mandate has raised concerns that Trump is trying to marginalize the United Nations, something the US president has long criticized.

But despite the wave of invitations, not everyone is keen to join the initiative. At the signing ceremony, only 19 world leaders joined Trump, while many other countries said they were reviewing the proposal or rejected the US president’s invitation outright.—Christina Lo

A fatal Israeli strike. Israeli raids on Wednesday killed at least 11 Palestinians in Gaza, including two children, three journalists and a woman, according to Gaza health officials. The three journalists were on a “humanitarian journalistic mission to document and photograph the suffering of civilians in displacement camps” when their civilian car was directly hit, according to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, a labor union. The Israeli military claimed that the journalists were using a “Hamas” drone, and said it was investigating the incident.

Israel has imposed an almost complete ban on foreign journalists in Gaza, even now with the ceasefire in effect. However, the war in Gaza was “the deadliest conflict for journalists in modern history,” as SitRep co-author John Haltiwanger previously noted. “[R]Rights groups and observers have warned that Israel is deliberately targeting journalists in Gaza — something the Israeli government denies — and is doing so without repercussions in a way that sets a dangerous precedent for the entire world, he wrote last August.—CL

Monday 26 January: Germany hosts the North Sea Summit.

Tuesday 27 January: The European-India summit will be held in New Delhi.

The United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement takes effect.

Wednesday 28 January: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks at the International Economic Forum for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Rubio testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about the Trump administration’s actions in Venezuela.

Friday 30 January: The ongoing short-term decision to fund the US government is set to expire.

3,117– The Iranian government’s first published death toll from weeks of protests, although independent groups and the United Nations estimated the number to be much higher.

“Mr. President, go away.”

– Danish Member of the European parliament Anders Vestesen criticizes Trump’s attempt to seize Greenland.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s accessories made more headlines than his speech in Davos, where he wore a pair of accessories. Top Gun— or Joe Biden’s Aviator sunglasses — depending on which social media posts you read — but the trendy choice was actually a medical necessity, apparently.