Trump’s disclosure of alleged private messages deepens NATO unease and intensifies Greenland dispute |
US President Donald Trump has triggered a new wave of diplomatic controversy after publicly releasing what he claimed were private messages from senior Western leaders, including NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and French President Emmanuel Macron. The disclosures, made via Trump’s Truth Social account on January 20, have added further strain to already tense relations between Washington and its European allies, while placing the long-simmering dispute over Greenland at the center of global attention ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The most striking of the posts was a message Trump attributed to NATO chief Mark Rutte. In the text, Rutte appeared to lavish praise on Trump’s foreign policy record and express willingness to help the US president “find a way forward” on Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory that Trump has repeatedly said the United States should control or acquire. If authentic, the message suggests a notably deferential tone from the head of the military alliance toward a US policy that many NATO members view as destabilizing.
Trump shared the message shortly after announcing he would meet with world leaders in Davos to discuss Greenland, signaling that the issue would be a major focus of his diplomatic agenda at the gathering. He has long argued that Greenland’s strategic location makes it indispensable to US national security, particularly in countering what he describes as growing Russian and Chinese activity in the Arctic. European governments, however, have rejected this framing, warning that treating Greenland as a security bargaining chip undermines international law and alliance solidarity.
In the purported message, Rutte praised Trump’s actions in multiple global conflict zones. He described Trump’s role in Syria as “incredible,” apparently referring to US involvement following a ceasefire between Kurdish forces and Damascus and Washington’s broader posture in the region. Rutte also commended Trump’s claimed mediation efforts in Gaza and Ukraine,........