Norway’s prime minister has confirmed receiving a striking message from Donald Trump, in which the US president linked his frustration over missing out on the Nobel Peace Prize to an increasingly confrontational stance on Greenland — a move that has sharpened tensions between Washington and European capitals.
The letter, sent over the weekend and first reported by PBS, was acknowledged on Monday by Jonas Gahr Støre, who said it arrived in response to a brief appeal he had sent earlier in the day alongside Finland’s president. The Nordic leaders had urged de-escalation and proposed a three-way phone call amid mounting concern over US rhetoric targeting Greenland.
According to Støre, Trump wrote that, “considering your country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize,” he no longer felt an obligation to think “purely of peace”, even if peace would “always be predominant”. He then went on to assert that the United States required “complete and total control of Greenland”.
Norway does not award the Nobel Peace Prize. That responsibility lies with an independent committee appointed by the Norwegian parliament — a distinction Støre was careful to underline as news of the letter spread across Europe.
Greenland at the centre of a growing rift
The episode comes as Trump intensifies pressure over Greenland, the self-governing Arctic island that remains part of the Danish kingdom. The US president has repeatedly argued that Greenland is strategically vital to American and Nato security interests, citing concerns about Russian and Chinese influence in the Arctic.
Over the weekend, Trump raised the stakes by threatening punitive tariffs on European countries that oppose any US move to take control of Greenland. The warning prompted António Costa to call an emergency summit of EU leaders later this week, as governments scramble to coordinate a response.
European officials have rejected the suggestion that trade measures could be used to pressure allies into territorial concessions. Several leaders privately described Trump’s language as a form of economic coercion that risks undermining long-standing transatlantic ties.
Nobel grievances resurface
Trump has long expressed resentment over his failure to secure the Nobel Peace Prize, particularly after Barack Obama was awarded the honour in 2009. He frequently claims credit for resolving or halting multiple international conflicts, assertions that independent analysts have disputed.
This year’s Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to María Corina Machado, a decision that further fuelled Trump’s public complaints. Although Machado later gifted her physical medal to Trump, the Nobel committee clarified that the honour itself cannot be transferred, regardless of who possesses the medal.
The resurfacing of Trump’s Nobel grievance, now explicitly linked to a concrete geopolitical demand, has unsettled diplomats in Brussels and Nordic capitals alike.
Europe urges restraint
European leaders have been quick to stress that Greenland’s future is not negotiable. UK prime minister Keir Starmer said decisions about the territory “belong to the people of Greenland and Denmark alone”, while French and German officials warned against blurring security cooperation with territorial ambition.
Støre struck a cautious tone, confirming the authenticity of the letter but emphasising Norway’s commitment to dialogue. “This is a serious situation,” he said, adding that communication between allies remained essential even amid sharp disagreements.
As EU leaders prepare to meet and markets watch for signs of a transatlantic trade clash, Greenland has become more than a remote Arctic outpost. It is now a symbol of how personal grievances, security anxieties and economic pressure are colliding — and how fragile the balance between the US and Europe has become at a moment of global uncertainty.
