Donald Trump reportedly sent an ominous warning to the Prime Minister of Norway, suggesting that war could be on the table in his pursuit of Greenland, an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
In a letter shared late Sunday by PBS journalist Nick Schifrin from the U.S. President to Norway’s leader Jonas Gahr Støre, Trump warned that after not winning last year’s Nobel Peace Prize “for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS,” he “no longer feel[s] 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.”
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Trump has in the past conflated the honor, which is given by the Norway-based Nobel Committee, with the nation and its government. Of his denial of the Peace Prize, Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity earlier this month: “It’s been a very big embarrassment to the country of Norway. Whether they have anything to do with it or not. I think they do. They say they don’t.”
Read More: In Places Trump Has Touted Bringing Peace, Conflict Still Rages
Trump’s letter to Støre went on to tie his warning of no longer thinking “purely of peace” to his campaign to take over Greenland.
“Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a ‘right of ownership’ anyway?” he continued. “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.”
The National Security Council also reportedly forwarded the letter to European ambassadors in Washington, according to Schifrin’s X post.
Støre confirmed to Norwegian news outlet VG that he received the letter, saying that Trump’s note was a response to an earlier message where he and Finland’s President Alexander Stubb sought a conversation with their U.S. counterpart.
TIME could not independently verify the letter. The White House has not immediately replied to TIME’s request for comment.
Trump’s message to Støre comes as he escalated pressure on fellow member-states in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) defense alliance to deliver Greenland to him. On Saturday, Trump announced on Truth Social that starting Feb. 1, he’s imposing a 10% tariff on a handful of NATO members, including Norway and Denmark, for sending troops to Greenland. That tariff will remain—and even increase to 25% come June—“until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland,” he said.
Read More: Europe Promises United Response to Trump’s ‘Dangerous’ Greenland Tariffs
NATO countries have fiercely opposed Trump’s plan to occupy Greenland, and have criticized the U.S. President’s attempts to pressure its allies with tariffs, which leaders from Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden have described as “blackmail,” to hand over the Danish territory.
Following the threat, European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, have reportedly considered using the European Union’s anti-coercion instrument—the bloc’s retaliatory trade tool nicknamed the trade “bazooka” for how it could upend trans-Atlantic trade. The “bazooka” has never been used before on any country, but should the E.U. choose to, it could severely limit U.S. access to E.U. trade markets, through either tariffs or other import control measures.
Most Americans and even some Republicans are not in support of Trump’s plan to take Greenland, especially if it involves force.
The post Trump Says No Need ‘To Think Purely of Peace’ in Letter to Norway About Nobel Prize Loss, Greenland Ambitions appeared first on TIME.
