US President Donald Trump on Tuesday insisted that the United States should be in control of Greenland rather than Nato ally Denmark, renewing tensions in Europe even as the trans-Atlantic military alliance was announcing billions in arms deals at a summit in an attempt to appease the mercurial US leader.

Trump called the semi-autonomous island “an important part" for the United States, as he repeated the false claim that it's surrounded by Chinese and Russian ships and said he won't let Greenland be threatened.

“That should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark,” Trump told reporters during a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.

The Nato alliance was founded on the principle that its 32 members will defend each others' territory and not threaten to seize it. At the summit, European countries and the alliance's secretary-general, Mark Rutte, were already working overtime to address another longstanding Trump complaint: that European allies do not spend enough on their own defense.

Separately, Trump announced that the US will lift sanctions on Türkiye that were issued after Ankara purchased a Russian missile defence system that led to the country being kicked out of the F-35 fighter jet programme – in a nod to his warm ties with summit host Erdogan .

Türkiye's purchase in 2019 of Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems sparked years of tensions, despite the warm personal relationship between Trump and Erdogan dating back to the US president's first term.

Legal hurdles remain before Türkiye could be fully admitted back to the US F-35 programme, but the removal of sanctions issued under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act would help ease that process. Regaining access to the F-35s is a top goal of Erdogan.

“We’re going to be taking the sanctions off, OK?” Trump said in response to a question, saying his Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were working on the issue.

Trump said the possibility of selling F-35s to Türkiye is “something certainly we’d consider” given the countries' relationship, and that “Türkiye’s been, in many ways, much more loyal than other countries that we think would be loyal.”

Erdogan expressed hope that the US will sell the F-35s, saying the US president always stands by his word.

Trump and Erdogan showed off their fondness for each other. Erdogan greeted Trump with an elaborate ceremony involving military officials on horseback and jets overhead emitting red, white and blue smoke.

Earlier in the day, Nato showcased military projects worth billions of dollars – an investment Rutte called “money well spent" and one clearly meant to try to satisfy Trump.

Rutte was speaking to government ministers and defense industry officials at a forum billed as Nato’s “big reveal,” to the thrum of techno music.

Nato does not own weapons – these are the property of member countries – but it has 14 AWACS early warning radar surveillance planes that are about 50 years old, along with newer surveillance drones.

A deal to replace the aging planes was announced on Tuesday. Swedish manufacturer Saab will supply up to 10 new GlobalEye surveillance aircraft for a 10-nation consortium, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced.

“It’s a moment of great pride,” he said.

Some projects will be paid for with funds from a system of cheap loans for defense purposes set up by the European Union, comprising up to US$170 billion raised on capital markets.

Representatives from 15 nations announced a multinational effort to buy air-to-air refueling and transport planes from Airbus. Then Rutte announced a four-country effort to purchase as many as five new Triton surveillance drones. (AP)



Edited by Cecil Wong