US President Donald Trump arrived at the World Economic Forum in Davos and called for immediate negotiations towards a deal to acquire Greenland saying it was a “very small ask.”

"I'm seeking immediate negotiations to once again to discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the United States," he told world leaders gathered in Davos, Switzerland. “We want a piece of ice for our own protection… Greenland is a piece of ice, very small ask.”

Trump said only the US was capable of securing Greenland and the urgent need for negotiations had nothing to do with rare earths.

Trump insisted he won't use force to acquire Greenland in a speech at the World Economic Forum, where he said that the US is booming but Europe is “not heading in the right direction.”

“Greenland has a strategic location between US, Russia, China... We need it for strategic reasons, not for rare earth minerals,” the US President said.

The US President also said that the US fought for “beautiful” Denmark, which is not land, but a big piece of ice and the US was stupid to give it back and reminded that the US was 100 per cent with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato), but he wasn’t sure if Nato was with them.

"You can say yes, and we will be very appreciative. Or you can say no, and we will remember," Trump said in Davos speech.

Denmark's foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said Trump's statement that he would not use force to take Greenland was positive despite Trump's ambitions to acquire the island remaining intact.

At a news conference on Tuesday, Trump said meetings on Greenland were planned in Davos and expressed optimism about a possible agreement involving the Danish territory.

“I think we will work something out where NATO is going to be very happy and where we’re going to be very happy. But we need it for security purposes. We need it for national security,” he said.

Greenland, a sparsely populated Arctic island of about 57,000 people, has become a sensitive issue within NATO. Several alliance leaders have warned that Trump’s insistence on acquiring the territory risks straining transatlantic ties.

Denmark and Greenland, while rejecting any transfer of sovereignty, have offered expanded cooperation and a stronger US presence on the island.

Trump has repeatedly framed Greenland as critical to Arctic security, arguing that it is needed to counter Russian and Chinese influence. He has also threatened trade retaliation against European countries opposing his plans.

Moscow has dismissed claims of a Russian or Chinese threat in the region, calling them exaggerated.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would not yield to Donald Trump in his opposition to US demands to acquire Greenland, adding that the US President had reversed his prior support for a Chagos Islands deal to put pressure on Britain.

Starmer has called for "calm discussion" on Greenland and indicated on Monday he did not wish to escalate a trade war, after Trump threatened tariffs on Britain and other European countries unless he was allowed to buy Greenland.

"I will not yield, Britain will not yield, on our principles and values about the future of Greenland under threats of tariffs, and that is my clear position," Starmer told lawmakers, adding the Danish prime minister would visit London on Thursday.

Starmer said that Trump's criticism of the Chagos Islands deal with Mauritius was because "he wants me to yield on my position, and I'm not going to do so".

"President Trump deployed words on Chagos yesterday that were different from his previous words of welcome and support. He deployed those words yesterday for the express purpose of putting pressure on me and Britain in relation to my values and principles on the future of Greenland," Starmer said.

Speaking in Davos, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte declined to comment directly on the dispute but acknowledged concerns about the Arctic.

“President Trump and other leaders are right. We have to do more there. We have to protect the Arctic against Russian and Chinese influence,” Rutte said during a panel discussion.

“We are working on that, making sure that collectively we’ll defend the Arctic region,” he added. At the same time, Rutte warned NATO allies not to lose focus on Ukraine.

“The focus on Ukraine should be the number one priority, it is crucial for European and US security,” he said. “I am really worried that we lose sight and that in the meantime Ukrainians won’t have enough interceptors to defend themselves.”

Trump has not ruled out using military force to take control of Greenland, where the United States already maintains a military base.

Sources familiar with the matter have previously told Reuters that Trump sees Greenland as part of a legacy project to expand US territory on a scale not seen since 1959, when Alaska and Hawaii became US states.

The diplomatic fallout has been visible. In an unusual move, Trump released the text of a private message from French President Emmanuel Macron, who urged him to meet G7 leaders in Paris after Davos.

“I do not understand what you are doing on Greenland,” Macron wrote.

Macron’s office later said France had asked for a NATO exercise in Greenland and was ready to take part. Denmark declined to comment on a media report that it was considering deploying up to 1,000 soldiers to the island in 2026.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, whose country joined NATO in 2024, said Europeans were open to strengthening security in Greenland and across the Arctic but drew a line. “We will not accept being blackmailed,” he said.

The White House has said Trump’s primary purpose at Davos is to promote the US economy.

During his Davos visit, Trump plans separate meetings with the leaders of Switzerland, Poland and Egypt.

On Thursday, he is due to preside over a ceremony for the Board of Peace, a body he established to support the redevelopment of Gaza following a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Trump has suggested the group could also work on other global crises, raising concerns about overlap with the United Nations. “I like the United Nations but it has never lived up to its potential,” Trump said.

Davos has also become a venue for quiet diplomacy on Ukraine. Trump said on Wednesday, "Ukraine is a bloodbath".

Trump said he would meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, adding that he believed both the Ukrainian leader and Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to end the nearly four-year-old war.

Trump said he was also dealing with Putin, and would meet with Zselensky on the sidelines of a gathering of world leaders in Davos.

The Kremlin said it had nothing to add publicly after envoys for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump described their meeting as “very positive” and “constructive.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia needed to be informed about discussions involving the United States, Europe and Ukraine.