U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly stepped back on Wednesday from threats to impose tariffs as leverage to seize Greenland, ruled out the use of force, and said a deal was in sight to end a dispute over the Danish territory that risked the deepest rupture in transatlantic relations in decades.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the deal emerged from a "very productive meeting" with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and would be "a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations" if finalized.

"Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1," Trump wrote, without providing details on the terms of the proposed agreement.

Trump also said further discussions were underway on the Golden Dome, a proposed multi-layer missile defense system for the United States, as it relates to Greenland, adding that additional information would be released as talks progress.

He said that U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will lead the negotiations and report directly to him.

Skeptics

Greenlanders were skeptical on Wednesday following Trump's announcement that he had settled the question of the Arctic island's future.

Several Greenlanders in the capital Nuuk voiced doubt when they heard the news or refused to believe it.

"Quite simply a lie. He's lying," technician Mickel Nielsen, 47, told AFP. "I don't believe a word he says, and I don't think I'm the only one."

Greenlandic MP Aaja Chenmitz, one of the two elected representatives of Greenland in the Danish parliament, told AFP that "NATO has absolutely no right to negotiate anything without us, Greenland. Nothing about us without us." She added, "And for NATO to have a say in our country and our minerals is completely insane."

Greenland's government has issued an emergency preparedness handbook advising households to stock at least five days' worth of basic supplies, including drinking water, food and sanitary products, in preparation for potential crises, local media reported on Wednesday.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said he welcomed Trump ruling out taking "Greenland by force" and pausing "the trade war with Europe."

"Now, let's sit down and find out how we can address the American security concerns in the Arctic while respecting the red lines of the Kingdom of Denmark," Rasmussen said in a statement.

Rasmussen said he had spoken with Rutte but declined to provide details on what had been agreed.

German Vice-Chancellor and Minister of Finance Lars Klingbeil told a German media outlet in an interview: "It's good that they can start a dialogue, but we still need to wait a little longer and should not have overly high expectations too early."

EU in action 

Rutte ⁠told Fox News ​on ​Wednesday the issue of whether Greenland will ⁠remain ‌with Denmark did ​not come up in ‌his conversation with Trump earlier in ‍the day.

Rutte said Trump is very much focused on how "we can protect" that "huge Arctic region."

It comes after several NATO members, including Britain, France and Germany, that oppose the U.S. attempt to acquire Greenland, sent troops and diplomatic assets last week to the Arctic territory. France has requested a NATO exercise in Greenland and is "ready to contribute," French media BFM TV reported on Wednesday, citing the Elysee Palace.

And Spain is urging the EU to move towards creating a joint army for the bloc as a deterrence measure, Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told Reuters on Wednesday.

The region should focus first on bringing together its tangible assets to properly integrate its defense industry, and then mobilizing a coalition of the willing, the foreign minister said. "A joint effort would be more efficient than 27 separate national armies."

The comments were issued hours before an emergency meeting between EU leaders later on Thursday in Brussels to coordinate a joint response to Trump's Greenland threats, though Trump said he and Rutte had "formed the framework of a deal."

What Trump's reversal of Greenland means?

While calling Trump's reversal from threats to a diplomacy "a decisive new development," Mikkel Runge Olesen, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, told New York Times that "The Danish reactions right now are cautiously optimistic. I think people are holding back because of how quickly a seemingly positive development has come to nothing before."

The New York Times reported that the deal Trump said he talked with Rutte about showed Denmark would transfer sovereignty over a small piece of land in Greenland to the United States for the construction of a military base.

In recent days, a series of U.S. military actions, including the deployment of paratroopers and F-22A fighter jets to Greenland, have attracted significant attention. 

Though Trump ruled out the use of military force, Jian Junbo, director of the Center for China-Europe Relations at Fudan University, told The Paper that if the U.S. were to send troops to occupy Greenland, NATO would have no way to intervene. This is because the U.S. would likely refuse to activate Article 5 of NATO, which requires a response from other member states if one is invaded. Jian further explained that such a confrontation would have a psychological impact on NATO members, eroding their trust in the alliance, especially in the United States.

Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs at Renmin University of China, agreed that European countries are gradually losing confidence in the United States. He expressed doubts that the deal between Trump and Rutte would be finalized or achieve the desired results.

Wang speculated that Trump likely did not anticipate such backlash from the EU over Greenland, especially given the military drills and the suspension of trade deals. Unlike last year, when the EU attempted to appease Trump over tariff negotiations, Wang noted that "this time it's about NATO and the EU as sovereign nations, not just one European country, like Ukraine."

"If Trump breaks the rules, the whole world could fall into chaos. After all, the EU is a union of medium and small countries," Wang said, explaining the EU's hardening its stance this time.

For Wang, Trump's reversal signals a change in approach. While Trump promised not to invade Greenland, his promise is unreliable. Wang suggested that Trump might attempt to acquire Greenland through other means in the long run. 

Trump wants to manage this process in time for the U.S. midterm elections in November, using the issue to pressure Europe into accepting some of the U.S.'s positions, including on Ukraine, Wang added. 

Wei Zongyou, a professor at the Center for American Studies of Fudan University, told People's Daily that Trump is determined to implement the so-called "Donroe Doctrine," which regards the Americas as the U.S.'s sphere of influence.

(With input from agencies)