UK not to yield to pressure from Trump on Greenland — Starmer
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated he will not yield to pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump over Greenland.
Starmer made the comments during a speech in parliament, Ukrinform reports, citing Reuters.
The head of the British government called for a “calm discussion” of the Greenland issue and said he did not want an escalation of the trade war. His statements followed Trump's threat to impose tariffs on Britain and other European countries if they did not allow him to acquire 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 also noted that Trump's criticism of the agreement on the sale of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean by Britain to Mauritius was caused by the fact that “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 emphasized.
In response to questions from lawmakers who called on Starmer to go further in opposing Trump, the British prime minister said it was still important to cooperate with the U.S. on issues such as the war in Ukraine.
"That does not mean we agree with the U.S. on everything. But it is foolhardy to think that we should rip up our relationship with the U.S., abandon Ukraine and so many other things that are important to our defence, security and intelligence."
As reported by Ukrinform, U.S. President Donald Trump is ready to apply additional measures of influence on countries that oppose his desire to acquire Greenland, in addition to the previously announced tariffs.
Earlier, Trump also criticized the UK for transferring the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, where the British-American military base Diego Garcia is located, to Mauritius.
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