LOC08:41
05:41 GMT
WASHINGTON, Jan 21 (KUNA) -- US President Donald Trump said late Tuesday that he intended to hold several meetings in the upcoming days to discuss the issue of Greenland, adding the meetings would not include the G-7 emergency meeting proposed by French President Emmanual Macron.
Trump made the statement during a news conference held at the White House prior to his departure to partake in the World Economic Forum at Davos in Switzerland, which includes a meeting on Greenland.
Asked if he spoke to Macron and British Prime Minister Kier Starmer since his Truth Social post last night, Trump said: No, I haven't, but I think I get along very well with them. I mean, they -- they always treat me well.
"They get a little bit rough when they're -- you know, when I'm not around. But when I'm around, they treat me very nicely. And you know, I like both of them. They're both liberal -- uh, they've got to straighten out their countries."
Trump noted that "London is having a lot of problems. And if you look at Paris, got a lot of problems. They have two problems, immigration and energy.
He went to say that "they've got to stop with the windmills and they got to go back like -- uh, UK has an unbelievable asset called the North Sea. Norway uses it, makes a fortune.
"They have a better section of it and they don't do it. They could straighten out their countries and it would be good, but I get along very well with them. [Crosstalk] Go ahead," he stated.
When asked if he goes to Paris for the G-7 emergency meeting as offered by President Macron, Trump said: "No, I wouldn't do that. No. [Crosstalk] Because, you know, Emmanuel -- Emmanuel is not going to be there very long. And you know, there's no longevity there.
"He's a friend of mine. He's a nice guy. I like Macron, but -- but he's not -- he's not going to be there very much longer, as you know. And I think -- you know, I have meetings with the people that are directly involved, not -- some of the people you're talking about."
Trump elaborated that "they want to -- they need that agreement very badly with us. They really do. They fought very hard to get it, so I doubt that, but we'll see what happens. We have a lot of meetings scheduled on Greenland. I'm leaving tonight, as you know, for Davos, and we have a lot of meetings scheduled on Greenland."
Tensions have been prevailing between Trump and some European leaders over his repeated statements since the start of his tenure regarding his intention to control over the Greenland Island, an autonomous territory part of Denmark Kingdom, for reasons related to US national security.
The Davos conference is being held at a time when the world is witnessing severe geopolitical and geoeconomic tensions after Trump had threatened imposing new tariffs on eight EU countries until reaching a deal on annexing the island. (end)
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