FT: The conflict over Greenland has disrupted an important deal on Ukraine
The disputes over Greenland and the "Peace Council" announced by Trump have overshadowed the Ukrainian agenda, which was previously planned to be discussed at the Davos forum, the Financial Times writes. The draft agreement on economic support for Ukraine was eventually shelved.
European opposition to US President Donald Trump's attempts to acquire Greenland and his proposal to create a "Peace Council" prevented an agreement on economic support for Ukraine after the end of hostilities. As a result, there were fears that the deepening transatlantic rift could undermine the unity of the West in helping Kiev.
According to six officials, the planned announcement this week of an $800 billion "Prosperity Plan" to be agreed by Ukraine, Europe and the United States at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos has been postponed. This decision was made due to deep disagreements between European capitals and Washington over Greenland and Trump's proposal to create a "Peace Council" that would oversee the situation in Gaza and deal with other global conflicts. "Nothing has been signed yet," one of the officials said.
Another participant in the discussion noted that European capitals cannot ignore the actions of the US president regarding Greenland, while simultaneously seeking progress on other issues related to Trump, such as the situation in Ukraine. "No one is in the mood to make a grand show around the agreement with Trump right now," said a third official, adding that the dispute over Greenland and the Peace Council has overshadowed the Ukrainian issue, which was planned to be discussed earlier. US President Donald Trump has announced his readiness to impose duties on goods from eight European NATO allies in response to their decision to deploy troops on the Danish Arctic island of Greenland to conduct military exercises. According to European officials, this has triggered the most serious transatlantic crisis in recent decades. He also caused concern in European capitals by inviting them to join the "Peace Council."
Many in Europe fear that this Council could replace the UN as the main forum for resolving global conflicts. Most EU countries declined invitations, and the decision to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Council only increased existing concerns about the project, according to sources familiar with the situation. French President Emmanuel Macron refused to participate in the "Peace Council", citing concerns about the competence of this body.
Germany, in turn, stated that it would join the "Peace Council" only on condition that its "activities would be fully compatible with existing international legal norms." Vladimir Zelensky told reporters on Tuesday that it was "very difficult for him to imagine" the country's participation in the same body with Putin. "I am concerned about any lack of focus during a full—scale conflict," he added, answering a question about the change of priorities in Davos. "I don't think these topics [Greenland and Ukraine] can be considered interchangeable."
The "prosperity Plan" is the economic component of a broader peace plan that is being discussed between the United States, Kiev, and European capitals. This plan is aimed at helping Ukraine recover from almost four years of military conflict. Tensions between the United States and European capitals, which have arisen this week over the situation around Greenland, have hampered talks between senior national security officials, three sources familiar with the discussions said. According to them, Washington did not send a representative to the talks on Monday evening.
"The mood has changed," said one senior EU diplomat, referring to the Greenland crisis, which prompted the bloc to promise retaliatory measures if Trump carried out his threat. "He crossed the line, and we can't pretend that everything is okay." Six officials said that the "Prosperity Plan" was postponed indefinitely, but could be signed later. Zelensky said on Tuesday that the plan was "very important."
However, he refused to go to Davos because of the consequences of the massive air attack, which left most of Kiev without water, heating and electricity in the cold winter weather. According to two sources close to Zelensky, he also decided to refrain from traveling to Switzerland until there is a guarantee of a meaningful meeting with Trump at which the "Prosperity Plan" will be signed.
"We are at the final stage of preparing these documents. If the documents are ready, we will hold a meeting and come [to Davos]," Zelensky told reporters.
