US President Donald Trump descends on Davos for a showdown with European leaders as his bid to seize Greenland threatens to tear the transatlantic alliance apart.
Mr Trump mocked Europeans a day before heading to the World Economic Forum, amid tensions over the fate of the autonomous Danish territory.
But leaders in the Swiss ski resort have closed ranks against Mr Trump’s ‘America First’ stance, with French President Emmanuel Macron vowing to stand up against “bullies” and the EU promising an “unflinching” response.
“I’m going to a beautiful place in Switzerland where I’m sure I’m very happily awaited for,” President Trump said with a smile at a White House briefing to mark his first year back in power, before leaving for Davos.
Asked how far he was prepared to go to acquire Greenland from Denmark, a fellow NATO member, Mr Trump replied: “You’ll find out.”
Republican senator Thom Tillis, a member of a bipartisan US Congress delegation that has visited Copenhagen and Davos, told AFP however about the row, “I think it de-escalates over time.”
Meanwhile, Mr Trump is set to formally announce the first charter of his so-called “Board of Peace,” a body for resolving international conflicts with a $1 billion (€852.9 million) price tag for permanent membership.
The board was originally conceived to oversee the rebuilding of Gaza, but a draft of the charter seen by AFP does not appear to limit its role to the occupied Palestinian territory.
Mr Trump’s invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin has caused particular consternation among US allies due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russia has gloated over the Greenland row, while sending a senior Mr Putin envoy to meet US officials on Ukraine in Davos.
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