Trump again demands Greenland as NATO unveils military projects worth billions to prove its firepower

By — Seung Min Kim, Associated Press Seung Min Kim, Associated Press By — Lorne Cook, Associated Press Lorne Cook, Associated Press By — Suzan Fraser, Associated Press Suzan Fraser, Associated Press By — Abby Sewell, Associated Press Abby Sewell, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/trump-again-demands-greenland-as-nato-unveils-military-projects-worth-billions-to-prove-its-firepower Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Trump again demands Greenland as NATO unveils military projects worth billions to prove its firepower World Jul 7, 2026 3:52 PM EDT ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday insisted that the United States should be in control of Greenland rather than NATO ally Denmark, renewing tensions in Europe even as the trans-Atlantic military alliance was announcing billions in arms deals at a summit in an attempt to appease the mercurial U.S. leader. Trump called the semiautonomous island "an important part" for the United States, as he repeated the false claim that it's surrounded by Chinese and Russian ships and said he won't let Greenland be threatened. WATCH: Can NATO allies deliver on promises to increase military spending? "That should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark," Trump told reporters during a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara. The NATO alliance was founded on the principle that its 32 members will defend each others' territory and not threaten to seize it. At the summit, European countries and the alliance's secretary-general, Mark Rutte, were already working overtime to address another longstanding Trump complaint: that European allies do not spend enough on their own defense. Separately, Trump announced that the U.S. will lift sanctions on Turkey that were issued after Ankara purchased a Russian missile defense system that led to the country being kicked out of the F-35 fighter jet program — in a nod to his warm ties with summit host Erdogan. Trump cites Erdogan 'chemistry' as he lifts an obstacle on F-35s Turkey's purchase in 2019 of Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems sparked years of tensions, despite the warm personal relationship between Trump and Erdogan dating back to the U.S. president's first term. Legal hurdles remain before Turkey could be fully admitted back to the U.S. F-35 program, but the removal of sanctions issued under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act would help ease that process. Regaining access to the F-35s is a top goal of Erdogan. "We're going to be taking the sanctions off, OK?" Trump said in response to a question, saying Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were working on the issue. Trump said the possibility of selling F-35s to Turkey is "something certainly we'd consider" given the countries' relationship, and that "Turkey's been, in many ways, much