The Norwegian leader said he received a message from Trump that Greenland was linking it to not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize

Norway’s Prime Minister said on Monday that he had received a letter from US President Donald Trump regarding escalating tensions over Greenland in which the US President said he no longer felt compelled to think purely about peace because he had not received the Nobel Peace Prize.

Read more: Thousands demonstrate in Greenland against Trump’s threats to seize control of the Arctic island

Trump’s letter to Jonas Gahr Sture, first reported by PBS News, appears to intensify a standoff between Washington and its closest allies over his threats to seize Greenland, an autonomous region in NATO member Denmark. To force European countries that have rallied around Denmark and Greenland into talks, Trump on Saturday announced a 10% import tax starting in February on goods from eight countries, including Norway.

These countries issued a strong rebuke. But British Prime Minister Keir Starmer sought to calm tensions on Monday. While the White House did not rule out taking control of the strategic Arctic island by force, Starmer said he did not believe there would be military action.

“I believe this can and should be resolved through calm discussion,” he said.

However, the US leader’s letter to Gar Stohr could further fracture US-European relations already strained by disagreements over how to end the nearly four-year-old war in Ukraine, and previous rounds of tariffs, military spending, and immigration policy.

In a sign of how tensions have risen in recent days, thousands of Greenlanders marched over the weekend to protest any effort to take control of their island. Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens Fredrik Nielsen said in a Facebook post on Monday that the tariff threats would not change their position.

“We will not be pressured,” he wrote. We stand firmly on dialogue, respect and international law.”

Trump sends a message to the Norwegian leader

In a social media post, PBS News reported that Trump said in a letter to Jar Store: “Given that your country has decided not to award me the Nobel Peace Prize because it has stopped 8 wars in addition, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely about peace, even though it will always prevail, but I can now think about what is good and right for the United States of America.”

She concluded, “The world will not be safe unless we fully and comprehensively control Greenland.”

PBS News said the letter was sent to several European ambassadors in Washington.

Storr’s neighbor confirmed on Monday that he received a text message from Trump but did not publish its contents. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Jar Store said Trump’s letter was a response to an earlier letter sent on behalf of him and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, in which they conveyed their opposition to the tariff announcement, cited the need for calm, and suggested a phone conversation between the three leaders.

“Norway’s position on Greenland is clear. Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and Norway fully supports the Kingdom of Denmark in this matter,” Sture said. He added: “With regard to the Nobel Peace Prize, I have made clear clearly, including to President Trump, what is known, that the prize is awarded by an independent Nobel Committee and not the Norwegian government.”

He watches: A look at Greenland’s strategic importance as Trump escalates his threats

The Norwegian Nobel Committee is an independent body whose five members are appointed by the Norwegian Parliament.

Trump had publicly wanted to receive the Peace Prize, which the committee awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado last year. Last week, Machado presented her Nobel medal to Trump, who said he planned to keep it even though the committee said the award could not be revoked, transferred or shared with others.

Starmer says a trade war is in no one’s interest

In his latest threat to impose tariffs, Trump suggested they would be a response to last week’s deployment of token numbers of troops from European countries to Greenland — although he also suggested he was using the tariffs as leverage to negotiate with Denmark.

European governments said troops traveled to the island for Arctic security training in response to Trump’s concerns about interference by Russia and China.

Starmer on Monday called Trump’s threat of tariffs “completely false” and said a trade war was in no one’s interest.

He added, “Realism does not mean passivity, and partnership does not mean abandoning principles.”

Six of the eight targeted countries are part of the 27-member European Union, which operates as a single economic area in terms of trade. European Council President Antonio Costa said on Sunday that the bloc’s leaders had expressed their “readiness to defend ourselves against any form of coercion.” A summit is expected to be held later this week.

Starmer noted that Britain, which is not part of the European Union, does not plan to consider imposing retaliatory tariffs.

“My focus is on making sure we don’t get to that point,” he said.

The Danish Defense Minister and Greenland’s Foreign Minister are expected to meet NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Brussels on Monday, a meeting that was planned before the latest escalation.

Associated Press writer Josh Bock in West Palm Beach, Florida, contributed to this report.