Trump/Zelenskyy meeting expected tomorrow, not today
We are getting a bit more clarity now as Reuters and CNN are reporting that the Trump/Zelenskyy meeting will take place tomorrow, not today – and the Ukrainian president will travel to Davos for that meeting.
It means that he will be meeting the Ukrainian president just as his peace envoy Witkoff will be in Moscow for talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
Key events
-
Greenland releases ‘crisis’ guidelines in wake of Trump threats
-
Denmark will continue engaging with US over Greenland, but will not compromise on its fundamental principles
-
Trump/Zelenskyy meeting expected tomorrow, not today
-
Zelenskyy not in Davos, Ukraine says, despite Trump’s suggestion of meeting
-
‘If they don’t change’ on immigration and energy, ‘bad things will happen’ in Europe and UK, Trump says
-
Trump ends Davos main stage speech
-
‘No possibility of compromise’ until Trump drops threats against Greenland, senior MEP says
-
Trump says deal ‘close’ on Ukraine and if Putin, Zelenskyy say no, ‘they are stupid’
-
‘Time that Nato steps up’ and helps US on Greenland as ‘we are helping them with Ukraine,’ Trump says
-
European parliament freezes work on implementing EU-US trade deal as ‘business as usual impossible’
-
‘US is back: bigger, stronger, better than ever before,’ Trump says
-
Trump repeats baseless claim that the US ‘gave back’ Greenland to Denmark after WW2 – fact check
-
‘Without us, most of countries don’t even work,’ Trump says
-
Trump wants ‘immediate’ talks on acquiring Greenland without force, linking it to US protection – key lines so far
-
Trump mocks Macron for wearing sunglasses in Davos as he recalls how he threatened him over drug prices
-
‘Say no and we will remember,’ Trump says as he links territory with US protection
-
Trump says ‘all he is asking for’ is Iceland in return for US protection
-
Trump says he wants to end Ukraine war
-
Trump says he wants to build ‘greatest Golden Dome ever built’ over Greenland to protect Nato
-
Trump says he won’t use force to take Greenland, but demands ownership over territory
-
US seeks immediate negotiations to acquire Greenland, Trump confirms
-
Only US can secure Greenland, Trump insists as he lambasts ‘ungrateful’ Denmark
-
US ‘takes great care’ about the people of Europe, but they are ‘destroying themselves’
-
Trump takes aim at ‘green new scam’ in Europe and ‘losers’ windmills
-
Europe ‘not heading in right direction,’ Trump says as ‘certain places are not even recognisable’
-
Donald Trump is about to begin his Davos speech
-
German carmakers say EU has ‘weakened itself’ by decision to refer Mercosur to top court
-
Nato’s situation is difficult, but focus needs to stay on Russia, Norwegian defence minister says
-
Trump arrives in Davos
-
European parliament’s vote on Mercosur could significantly delay deal’s implementation – snap analysis
-
European parliament refers freshly-signed Mercosur deal to bloc’s top court for legal check
-
Danish PM Frederiksen to visit London on Thursday, UK Starmer says
-
Apps identifying US products gain popularity in Denmark as consumers want to express their frustration with Greenland threats
-
Trump lands in Zurich en route to Davos after delayed US departure
-
Merz’s planned meeting with Trump cancelled over US president’s travel delays – reports
-
EU continues talks on trade with US as ‘it’s time for engagement, not escalation’
-
US envoy Witkoff to meet Russia’s Putin for talks on Ukraine with focus on ‘land deals’
-
EU’s von der Leyen will not meet Trump in Davos, EU confirms
-
Trump approaches Zurich as he continues delayed trip to Davos
-
Power cut affects Danish island of Bornholm in Baltic Sea
-
‘Time of flattery has ended,’ former Danish PM and Nato sec gen says, but hopes for de-escalation with US
-
Poland’s Nawrocki says hopes Greenland will be resolved diplomatically, stresses importance of US ties
-
‘There are curve balls flying in different … directions,’ but we try to solve them, ‘Trump whisperer’ Stubb says
-
‘Main issue is not Greenland, it’s Ukraine,’ Nato’s Rutte says
-
Nato’s Rutte pushes back on Trump’s doubts if Nato would come to help US if needed
-
‘I’m working behind the scenes,’ Nato’s Rutte says as he declines to comment on Greenland
-
EU parliament to discuss EU-US trade after of expected decision to freeze implementation of trade deal
-
Alaskan Inuits express unity with Greenlandic relatives over Trump threats
-
‘Future of Greenland is only for Greenlanders to decide,’ EU’s von der Leyen reiterates
-
Morning opening: Brace, brace
Greenland releases ‘crisis’ guidelines in wake of Trump threats
Greenland’s government announced a new brochure on Wednesday offering advice to the population in the event of a “crisis” in the territory, which US president Donald Trump has repeatedly vowed to seize from ally Denmark.
This document is “an insurance policy”, said self-sufficiency minister Peter Borg at a press conference in Nuuk, the Greenlandic capital, shortly after Trump demanded “immediate” talks on his bid to control Greenland but said he would not use military force to take the island.
“We don’t expect to have to use it,” Borg emphasised, in comments reported by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Trump said suring his speech in Davos on Wednesday that the US would be “unstoppable if it used eccessive strength to seize Greenland.
Germany and Italy will urge fellow members of the EU at an informal summit next month to deliver reforms to simplify procedures and improve competitiveness or risk falling further behind the US and China, according to a policy paper reviewed by Reuters.
The paper reportedly says Europe’s living standards and sovereignty are at stake as new competitors increase their global influence and the growth gap between Europe and the US and China has widened.
“Continuing on the current path is not an option. Europe must act now,” the joint statement said.
The policy paper was drawn up for the Leaders’ Retreat in Alden Biesen in Belgium on 12 February, where German chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni will press for a coordinated EU strategy to support businesses, attract investment and strengthen the single market.
It urges leaders to use the meeting and a EC gathering in March to agree upon concrete commitments.
Meloni and Merz are also reportedly scheduled to meet on Friday in Rome for a bilateral summit, where the Italo-German document is set to be presented, according to an Italian government source, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Norway’s government said on Wednesday it would not join the “board of peace” initiated by US president Donald Trump, who has vented his frustration at the Nordic country after being snubbed for the Nobel Peace Prize.
“The American proposal raises a number of questions” requiring “further dialogue with the United States”, state secretary Kristoffer Thoner said in a statement.
He added:
Norway will therefore not join the proposed arrangements for the Board of Peace, and will therefore not attend a signing ceremony in Davos.
Thoner said Norway would continue its close cooperation with the US.
The US administration has asked countries to pay up to $1bn for a permanent spot on the board, on which Trump will serve as chair.
“For Norway, it is important how this proposal is linked to established structures as the UN, and to our international commitments,” Thoner added.
The government representative added that Norway shared Trump’s “goal of lasting peace in Ukraine, Gaza and in other situations”.
Jakub Krupa
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, but Joe Coughlan is here to keep you up to date on the fallout from Trump’s speech in Davos and other key European lines.
Denmark will continue engaging with US over Greenland, but will not compromise on its fundamental principles
Danish foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and defence minister Troels Lund Poulsen are now briefing the media after a meeting with the foreign policy committee at the Danish parliament.
Rasmussen notes they didn’t watch Trump’s Davos speech, but only got briefed on the top lines.
He says it’s “positive in isolation” that Trump pledged not to use force over Greenland, but it doesn’t change the fact that he seems to be determined to take control of the territory.
Rasumussen says that Trump’s ambitions continue to pose open questions given Denmark’s – and by extension, Greenland’s – Nato membership.
He also pushed back on Trump’s criticism, saying Denmark has kept Greenland free from Chinese influence, for example.
In 2026, “you do not trade people, but between people,” he says, and adds Denmark will continue diplomatic talks with the US, but it’s not negotiating or willing to compromise on its fundamental principles about territory.
Trump/Zelenskyy meeting expected tomorrow, not today
We are getting a bit more clarity now as Reuters and CNN are reporting that the Trump/Zelenskyy meeting will take place tomorrow, not today – and the Ukrainian president will travel to Davos for that meeting.
It means that he will be meeting the Ukrainian president just as his peace envoy Witkoff will be in Moscow for talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
Zelenskyy not in Davos, Ukraine says, despite Trump’s suggestion of meeting
Trump earlier said that he was planning to meet Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Davos later today, saying he “might be in the audience right now.”
There is just a tiny problem with that: according to his senior adviser, Zelenskyy is actually … in Kyiv as was widely reported before the summit started, as he is responding to the recent Russian airstrikes on the Ukrainian capital.
“The president is in Kyiv,” Zelensky’s adviser Dmytro Lytvyn told journalists after Trump’s speech, as reported by AFP.
Awkward.
‘If they don’t change’ on immigration and energy, ‘bad things will happen’ in Europe and UK, Trump says
On his way out from the main auditorium, Trump picks up some questions from journalists.
Asked about Greenland, he says he made his views very clear and adds that “Nato has to step up.”
Asked if his comments about Europe and the UK aren’t disrespectful, he says he is not disrespectful.
But adds:
“Between immigration and energy if they don’t change, bad things will happen.”
Trump ends Davos main stage speech
In the meantime, after a quick final question on the Middle East, Trump ends his Davos appearance.
Now breathe.
But he will no doubt also have bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the main conference, so it’s something still worth keeping an eye on.
‘No possibility of compromise’ until Trump drops threats against Greenland, senior MEP says
Lisa O’Carroll
in Brussels
Bernd Lange, the chair of the international trade committee said, is now speaking about the parliament’s decision to freeze the implementation of the EU-US trade deal.
He says representatives of the political groups have just met and decided until “the threats [on Greenland] are over there will be no possibility of compromise”.
“We decided just a few minutes ago that we will really put on hold this legislation … it’s totally clear that there was a breaking of the Scotland deal by President Trump, announcing 10% tariff European goods.”
He said they had listened to Trump’s speaking at Davos and there was no indication he had changed his mind on Greeland.
Trump says deal ‘close’ on Ukraine and if Putin, Zelenskyy say no, ‘they are stupid’
On Ukraine, Trump says “we are reasonably close to deal on Ukraine.”
He says he is going to meet with Zelenskyy later today, and “they are at a point now where they can come together [with Russia’s Putin] and get a deal done.”
“And if they don’t they are stupid, that goes for both of them” he says.
“I don’t want to insult anyone, but you got to get this deal done. Too many people are dying.”
‘Time that Nato steps up’ and helps US on Greenland as ‘we are helping them with Ukraine,’ Trump says
We are back on Europe as Trump gets asked what’s the end game on Greenland.
He says Greenland costs Denmark “hundreds of millions a year to run it”, and while Denmark is “a small country and wonderful people, it is very expensive” for “a very big piece of ice.”
He then repeats that Nato has treated the US very unfairly, and “it’s time that Nato steps up” as “we are helping them with Ukraine.”
He says that without him, the Russian invasion of Ukraine could “could have ended up in World War Three.”
So essentially he doesn’t answer the question, though, just as before, he links it with Nato.
European parliament freezes work on implementing EU-US trade deal as ‘business as usual impossible’
Just as Trump keeps talking in Davos, the chair of the European parliament’s trade committee Bernd Lange confirms that “the EU-US deal is on hold until further notice” as the lawmakers pause its implementation process.
In a social media post, he added:
“Our negotiating team just decided to suspend work … on the legal implementation of Turnberry deal. Our sovereignty and territorial integrity are at stake. Business as usual impossible.”
Trump is now talking about his experience of discovering about Covid – “pandemic, not Covid, they came up with that name” – from satellite pictures of “bodies lying all over Wuhan,” and “right around from that certain building we talk about.”
(He keeps repeating this alternative and unproven theory of how the pandemic started, and has been for years.)
He then goes on a tangent about the the first world war and the Spanish flu to then go back discussing to economic growth.
‘US is back: bigger, stronger, better than ever before,’ Trump says
Trump ends on a somewhat positive note as he says:
“We’re in a position to do things that nobody else has ever even thought of before, and many of the people in this room are the ones that are doing it. And I want to congratulate you, and I’m with you all the way.
You can do things that nobody else can even think about. So I congratulate you on your tremendous success.
And, the United States is back. Bigger, stronger, better than ever before. And I will see you around.”
And we go into Q&A.
Trump is now saying that “we have to defend the culture” that built the collective west and “rediscover the spirit that lifted the west from the depths of the Dark Ages to the pinnacle of human achievement.”
He then praises the audience for being “true pioneers” and “brilliant,” but justifies that with their “ability to get a ticket, … because you have about 50 people for every seat” for his speech.
What?
Jakub Krupa
Trump is now discussing what he thinks of the Somali people and submarines, but if and when he reverts to Europe, I will pick it up here.
