'Stop using so-called threat...’: Russia, China lash out at Trump over 'Greenland' text to Norway PM

Amid US President Donald Trump's Greenland acquisition push, Russia and China on Monday (Jan 20) criticised the US saying Trump would “go down in history" if such a step was taken, while Beijing accused him of using a “so-called China threat" to pursue its own interests. This comes after US President Donald Trump sent an extraordinary text message to Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, telling him that there are no written documents to claim Denmark's ownership on Greenland and that they were not able to protect the island from the Russians and Chinese.

Also Read:Norway PM confirms Trump sent ‘chilling’ text linking Nobel snub to Greenland control, says told POTUS 'not our fault'

Trump's threatening text

US President Donald Trump has linked his drive to take control of Greenland to his failure to win the Nobel Peace Prize, saying he no longer thought "purely of Peace." When asked if he would use force to seize Greenland, Trump declined to answer but he did reiterate his threat to hit European nations with tariffs if a deal is not reached.

Also Read: Trump links Nobel snub to Greenland push, says no longer bound to think 'peace'

In a text message to Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere, Trump said, "Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America." In his message, Trump also repeated his accusation that Denmark cannot protect Greenland from Russia or China. "…why do they have a "right of ownership" anyway? There are no written documents, it's only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also."

Also Read: Will Trump use force to seize Greenland? US prez says 'no comments' on the question AND...

In response, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store made it clear to Trump that the Norwegian government has no role in awarding the Nobel Peace Prize. Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said that the territory should be allowed to decide its own fate. "We will not let ourselves be pressured. We stand firm on dialogue, on respect and on international law," he added.

Russia and China's response

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said that the United States should stop invoking a China threat as justification for its actions. “We urge the United States to stop using the so-called threat from China as a pretext to pursue its own selfish interests," Guo said. Additionally, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that international experts believed that resolving the issue of Greenland’s accession would make Trump a historic figure. He added that it was difficult to disagree with that assessment, without commenting on whether such a move would comply with international law.