US President Donald Trump threatened to withdraw all American armed forces from Europe after reviving his bid for the United States to acquire Greenland, as reported by The Guardian during the Nato summit in Ankara on Tuesday.
The dispute reemerged alongside tensions over European defense spending and disagreements regarding the conflict in Iran, which have exposed persistent fractures within the military alliance.
Trump indicated that his commitment to defending European allies has been affected by their political decisions concerning energy and immigration policies.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other European leaders had aimed to prevent public confrontations over defense budgets following a challenging year for the alliance.
The United Kingdom has pushed back against American criticism regarding defense funding, as Washington expects allies to hit a spending target of 3.5% of GDP by 2035.
Trump targeted the former British leadership, suggesting that Starmer's decision to remain out of the military operations against Iran led to his political downfall, despite the stance being popular among the British public.
"I was very disappointed with Nato. We weren't treated well because we did something in Iran.
We don't need anybody's help, but before I asked they said they wouldn't be there," said US President Donald Trump.
The American president further linked the political fate of the British Prime Minister to the diplomatic rift over the military intervention.
"In the case of the United Kingdom, the prime minister, I guess he's no longer there, maybe because of this, it was a very unpopular thing he did.
He said 'no we'll help after the war is over'. I said, 'we don't need that kind of help'," Trump added.
Trump also claimed that the ongoing friction regarding the sovereignty of Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark, has negatively impacted his relationship with Nato.
"Denmark doesn't spend money to really help Greenland, but it's an important part for the US, and it's surrounded by China ships and Russian ships … [It] should be controlled by the US, not by Denmark.
And when they wouldn't go along with it, and with all the money we spend to help them with Russia," Trump stated.
The president warned European nations that American military protection is not guaranteed if domestic policies on immigration and energy remain unchanged.
"We don't have to spend any money; we could remove all of our soldiers out of Europe because, as you probably noticed, Europe's a very different place than it was 20 years ago … They better be careful with immigration and energy.
If they're not careful with those two things, you're not going to have a Europe any more," Trump cautioned.
In response to the comments regarding the island's sovereignty, British Chancellor Rachel Reeves rejected the American position during a press briefing.
"The future of Greenland is up to the people of Greenland and of Denmark, and not up to the US president.
I've been very clear about that ever since it was first suggested," stated Rachel Reeves, UK Chancellor.
European members are currently attempting to address funding criticisms directly by announcing new multi-billion-pound collaborative defense projects, though Trump questioned the mutual benefits of the long-standing alliance.
"Why are we spending hundreds of billions of dollars and they're not there for us? We've always been there for them," Trump said.
