Trump talk can be 'destabilising,' says Lammy after US president elect didn't rule out invading Greenland
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Donald Trump’s rhetoric can be “destabilising,” says Foreign Secretary David Lammy after the US president elect did not rule out sending US troops to seize Greenland. However, Mr Lammy played down the prospect of a conflict erupting between Trump’s America and Europe over the latter’s apparent desire to control Greenland.
The Cabinet minister took a more diplomatic approach to the incoming US president than his French counterpart who issued a more direct warning against any attempt by Trump to grab Greenland. The row was triggered by a press conference earlier this week at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Florida estate when he did not rule out using military force or economic coercion to seize Greenland, wanted US control over the Panama Canal, argued that Canada should become part of the US, and called for the Gulf of Mexico to be renamed the Gulf of America.
He called for Nato allies to spend five per cent of GDP on defence and is also threatening a wave of economic tariffs on imports into America. Asked whether the US should be allowed to buy Greenland, Mr Lammy told BBC radio: “We know from Donald Trump’s first term that the intensity of his rhetoric and the unpredictability sometimes of what he said can be destabilising.
“He did it with Nato. But in fact, in practice, he sent more troops to Europe under his administration. He sent the first Javelins and weapons to Ukraine under his administration. “Here, I suspect on Greenland what he’s targeting is his concerns about Russia and China in the Arctic, is his concerns about national economic security.
