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Trump says 'no longer obliged to pursue peace' due to Nobel Peace Prize snub
The Norway PM had sent an initial message with Finnish President Alexander Stubb calling for a de-escalation of tensions, eliciting a response from Trump less than half an hour later
- PUBLISHED: Mon 19 Jan 2026, 8:51 PM
- By:
- Reuters
US President Donald Trump linked his drive to take control of Greenland to his failure to win the Nobel Peace Prize, saying he no longer thought "purely of Peace" as the row over the island on Monday threatened to reignite a trade war with Europe.
Trump has intensified his push to wrest sovereignty over Greenland from fellow Nato member Denmark, threatening punitive tariffs on countries which stand in his way and prompting the European Union to weigh hitting back with its own measures.
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The dispute is threatening to upend the Nato alliance that has underpinned Western security for decades and which was already under strain over the war in Ukraine and Trump's refusal to protect allies which do not spend enough on defence. It has also plunged trade relations between the EU and the US, the bloc's biggest export market, into renewed uncertainty after the two sides painstakingly reached a trade deal last year in response to Trump's swinging tariffs.
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Text messages between Norway PM and Trump
Here is the full text of the exchange between Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere and Trump regarding Greenland, trade and the Nobel Peace Prize, as released by Norway's government on Monday under the country's freedom of information act.
Stoere said he sent the initial text message on behalf of himself and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, referred to as "Alex".
Text message from Prime Minister Stoere to President Trump, January 18 at 3.48pm Oslo time (1448 GMT):
"Dear Mr President, dear Donald - on the contact across the Atlantic - on Greenland, Gaza, Ukraine - and your tariff announcement yesterday. You know our position on these issues. But we believe we all should work to take this down and de-escalate - so much is happening around us where we need to stand together. We are proposing a call with you later today - with both of us or separately - give us a hint of what you prefer! Best - Alex and Jonas"
Text message from President Trump to Prime Minister Stoere, January 18 at 4.15pm Oslo time (1515 GMT):
"Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America. Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a "right of ownership" anyway? There are no written documents, it's only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also. I have done more for NATO than any other person since its founding, and now, NATO should do something for the United States. The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland. Thank you! President DJT"
Nobel committee gave 2025 peace prize to Machado, not Trump
The Norwegian Nobel Committee annoyed Trump by awarding the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize not to him but to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. She gave her medal last week to Trump during a White House meeting, though the Nobel Committee said the prize cannot be transferred, shared or revoked.
Trump vowed on Saturday to implement a wave of increasing tariffs from February 1 on EU members Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland, along with Britain and Norway, until the U.S. is allowed to buy Greenland, home to only 57,000 people.
In a post on Facebook, Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the territory should be allowed to decide its own fate.
"We will not let ourselves be pressured. We stand firm on dialogue, on respect and on international law," he said.
Talks with Trump in Davos?
Norway's Stoere amended his schedule, announcing that he would attend the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday and Thursday, overlapping with Trump's planned appearance at the annual gathering of the global political and business elite.
Stoere had not been scheduled to attend this year's conference at the Swiss Alpine resort, where Trump is expected to deliver a keynote address on Wednesday in his first appearance at the event in six years.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he too would try to meet Trump on Wednesday, adding that a trade dispute was not wanted.
"But if we are confronted with tariffs that we consider unreasonable, then we are capable of responding," Merz said.
EU leaders will discuss their options at an emergency summit in Brussels on Thursday. One option is a package of tariffs on 93 billion euros ($108 billion) of US imports that could automatically kick in on February 6 after a six-month suspension. Another option is the "Anti-Coercion Instrument" (ACI), which has never yet been used and which could limit access to public tenders, investments or banking activity or restrict trade in services, in which the U.S. has a surplus with the bloc, including in digital services. The EU said it was continuing to engage "at all levels" with the US but said the use of its ACI was not off the table.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for calm discussion between the allies, adding that he did not believe Trump was considering military action to seize Greenland. Russia declined to comment on whether the U.S. designs on Greenland were good or bad but said it was hard to disagree with experts that Trump would "go down in... world history" if he did take control of the island.
Markets take fright
Trump's threat has rattled European industry and sent shockwaves through financial markets amid fears of a return to the volatility of last year's trade war, which only eased when the sides reached tariff deals in the middle of the year.
"This latest flashpoint has heightened concerns over a potential unraveling of NATO alliances and the disruption of last year's trade agreements with several European nations," said Tony Sycamore, market analyst with IG based in Sydney.
European shares were down on Monday, while the dollar fell as investors piled into safe-haven currencies.