Starmer: Trump dropping tariff threats over Greenland 'a good thing'

Sir Keir Starmer has praised US President Donald Trump's decision to seize Greenland from European opponents.

Now we can start hard yards and finding a way forward in the Arctic,

the prime minister said. When Trump sparked jitters around the western world, he called on the US to take over Greenland, a Danish territory in the Arctic, on national security grounds, and threatened to levy 10% import duties on eight countries, including the UK. However, after meeting Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte at Davos, the US president has now dropped talk of a trade war, saying that the two had come to an agreement over a potential deal on Arctic security.

Sir Keir said on Thursday that it is a good thing that

the threat of tariffs against the United Kingdom has been lifted

in Hertfordshire.

Now we can start hard yards and getting a handle on defense in the Arctic, which may seem far away, but it doesn't really matter to us in terms of safety and stability of our region,

he said.

We've come through the last few days with a mixture of British pragmatism, common sense, but also a British sense of sticking to our values and our principles.

But now, as I say, the difficult yards of actually finding a more effective method for defense for our country, Europe, and around the world are immense.

When Trump met Rutte on the fringes of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where the US president suggested that the structure might include mineral rights, the potential agreement was reached. Details on Greenland's massive – and largely untapped – treasures of rare earth minerals, many of which are essential for electronics such as cell phones and electric vehicles - are currently sparse, but Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told BBC Radio 4's Today show she was

not aware of any discussions at all. Rather, she said the deal was around a Arctic sentry allowing Nato countries to work together on a single shared threat with

few Arctic nations coming together, which are also supported by other Nato nations. Cooper attributed the decline to the United Kingdom's

determined diplomacyanda very coordinated strategy across alliesand itscoordinated strategy. This was amid a volley of social media messages directed at the United Kingdom, including one where he branded the deal to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands as a great mistake, despite having previously lauded the agreement as if it was a monumental achievement. Following legal advice that otherwise the UK riosked losing the Chagos Islands to MauritiUS, the UK is leasing back a vital UK military base. On Wednesday, the prime minister came under fire for his calm reaction to such attacks rather than boosting rhetoric about retaliation, with Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey saying that the UK must stand up to

bullies. Sir Keir responded with his most open condemnation of the US president yet, telling MPs that he would

not give

in his position against Greenland and pledged to stand up for British values. Sir Keir told the Commons that Trump changed his position on the UK's Chagos Islands agreement with

the express intention of putting pressure on me and Britain

over the Government's position on Greenland. Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative Party Leader, supported the PM's Greenland position, but criticised him for

giving away territory we own and paying £35 billion for the privilege

instead. When asked about the Chagos contract, Cooper said the figure was inaccurate and that it really corresponded to

0. Swallowing some of the propaganda and undermining the national interest, according to opposition leaders. Trump used the Chagos agreement as a way of putting pressure on the UK over Greenland in recent days, she said, "jumped on the bandwagon.

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