President Trump steps down threats over Greenland

The US President Donald Trump has said he won't use force to take ownership of the island of Greenland.

He also said he won't impose extra tarrifs, business taxes he had threatened to put on countries that opposed his plans.

President Trump was speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland - one of the world's biggest business meetings.

It's after a week that has seen world leaders arguing over Greenland, after Donald Trump again said America needs the country for its national security, and that not enough is being done to protect it from Russia and China.

Speaking at the weekend President Trump had offered to buy Greenland but also said he had not ruled out taking it by force, saying he would take it "the easy way" or "the hard way".

Last week some European countries, including the UK, showed their willingness to help support Denmark in keeping Greenland secure, by sending small numbers of soldiers to work there.

You can find out more about what's going on below, and if you have more questions, you can send them in here and we'll ask a BBC correspondent to answer them.

Greenland is the world's biggest island and sits in the northern Atlantic Ocean, next to Canada, and near to the Arctic.

It's officially part of Denmark, although it mostly runs itself.

Although he spoke about Greenland when he was previously US President, since he came into power in 2025, Donald Trump has focussed much more on the island, which he says should belong to the USA.

He says that the Arctic is a very important area and that Denmark and other European countries aren't doing enough to protect Greenland from China and Russia, so it needs to be part of the USA so it can be protected properly.

Denmark says that Greenland is "not for sale" and European leaders say that any decisions about the future of country should be made by people of Greenland and Denmark.

They have also offered to work with the USA in making sure the country has the security it needs.

UK Prime Minister Starmer made a speech on Monday morning about the situation with Greenland.

He spoke about the closeness of the partnership between the USA and the UK, and the importance of the group of countries called Nato.

Nato countries are a group of allies who share defence responsibilities. Of the countries in the group, America has the most powerful military, but it also includes lots of European countries including the UK, France and Denmark.

Mr Starmer spoke about the importance of the partnership and the need for calm discussion.

He also said countries don't always agree on things, but that respect should be shown between friendly countries, and that using threats and tariffs to put pressure on allies was "completely wrong".

He said his and President Trump's teams were talking often, but added that the current situation is serious and asked the country to come together.

Mr Starmer is due to meet Denmark's prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, on Thursday at his official country home in Buckinghamshire, called Chequers where the pair will discuss Greenland.

Talking about ownership of Greenland, President Trump has said it was "time for Denmark to give back" now that "World Peace is at stake".

He has called for the "complete and total purchase" of Greenland, adding: "The United States of America is immediately open to negotiation with Denmark and/or any of these Countries that have put so much at risk, despite all that we have done for them, including maximum protection, over so many decades."

In a letter to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, President Trump said "the World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland."

In the letter Mr Trump also said he no longer feels "an obligation to think purely of Peace" after Norway "decided not to give" him the Nobel Peace Prize.

Mr Store responded by saying that the Nobel Peace Prize is not awarded by the Norwegian government, but by an independent organisation based in Norway.

On Wednesday, President Trump met with Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland for talks on Greenland.

Mr Trump said the pair had "formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland".

But the details of the agreement haven't been made public and remain unclear at the moment - however it is believed that there was no agreement for American control or ownership of Greenland.

Speaking to reporters after his meeting with Mr Rutte, Trump suggested the possible deal could involve mineral rights, and also indicated there could be collaboration with a defence system.

"It's the ultimate long-term deal", Trump later told reporters. "It puts everybody in a really good position, especially as it pertains to security and to minerals."

After the talks, Nato spokesperson Allison Hart commented: "Negotiations between Denmark, Greenland, and the United States will go forward aimed at ensuring that Russia and China never gain a foothold - economically or militarily - in Greenland."

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is opposed the USA taking over Greenland saying "we want to cooperate and we are not the ones seeking conflict".

After Wednesday's Nato-US talks, Ms Frederiksen said: "We can negotiate on everything political - security, investments, economy. But we cannot negotiate on our sovereignty."

Denmark's foreign minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, said the day had ended "on a better note than it began".

The Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden, Ebba Busch, told the BBC's Newsnight programme, that the relationship between the EU and US had been damaged and now was the time for Europe to "toughen up".

Last week, Greenland's Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, stated that if his people were asked to make a choice they would choose Denmark over the US.

China has said that its activities in the Arctic are aimed at "promoting peace, stability and sustainable development in the region."

Foreign affairs spokesperson, Mao Ning, said that countries have the right "to carry out lawful activities in the Arctic" and that China shouldn't be used as "as a pretext for seeking selfish gains".

Leaders of many of Europe's countries are now set to meet in Brussels on Thursday evening for an urgent meeting to discuss the situation.