The administration of US President Donald Trump believes that European countries cannot stand up to Russia. This was stated by the head of the US Treasury Department Scott Bessent to NBC News, quoted by TASS.
"We see that the Europeans cannot stand up to Russia," he said.
Bessent reiterated the current US administration's argument that the conflict in Ukraine would not have started if Trump had won the 2020 election.
According to the head of the US Treasury Department, Trump wants to take Greenland to "prevent any actions by Russia or China regarding it."
On January 17, US President Donald Trump imposed 10% tariffs on the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, France and Sweden, which will remain in force until the countries reach agreements "on the full and final acquisition" of Greenland by Washington. This decision takes effect on February 1, and from June 1, the rate of these tariffs will increase to 25%.
US President Donald Trump is interested in acquiring additional icebreakers to patrol Canadian waters. This was reported today by NBC, citing current and former US officials.
"Trump has expressed interest in acquiring more icebreakers for maritime patrols there, which could be one of the new Arctic security issues in next year's defense budget," the officials said.
As NBC notes, there are concerns in the White House about Canada's "vulnerability", and the related costs for the ships could be included in the US military budget for 2027. The decision to purchase icebreakers could be part of a strategy to strengthen the US presence in the Arctic.