Washington. President Donald Trump linked his aggressive stance on Greenland to last year’s decision not to award him the Nobel Peace Prize, telling Norway’s prime minister that he no longer felt “an obligation to think purely of peace,” two European officials said Monday.

Trump’s message to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre appears to escalate a standoff between Washington and its closest allies over his threats to take over Greenland, a self-governing territory of NATO member Denmark. In an effort to pressure 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 nations, including Norway.

Those countries issued a forceful rebuke. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, however, sought to de-escalate tensions on Monday. While the White House has not ruled out taking control of the strategic Arctic island by force, Starmer said he did not believe military action would occur.

“I think this can be resolved and should be resolved through calm discussion,” Starmer said.

Still, Trump’s message to Gahr Støre risks further straining US-European relations, already under pressure from disagreements over how to end the nearly four-year war in Ukraine, previous rounds of tariffs, defense spending, and migration policy.

Reflecting rising tensions, thousands of Greenlanders marched over the weekend to protest any attempt to take over the island. Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said in a Facebook post Monday that tariff threats would not alter their position.

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

Trump’s Message to Norway

According to the two European officials, Trump’s message to Gahr Støre read in part: “Considering your country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped eight wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America.”

It concluded: “The world is not secure unless we have complete and total control of Greenland.”

The officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the message was forwarded to multiple European ambassadors in Washington. PBS first reported the contents of Trump’s note.

Gahr Støre confirmed Monday that he had received a text message from Trump but declined to disclose its contents. The White House did not respond to questions about the message or its context.

Gahr Støre said Trump’s message was a reply to an earlier note sent jointly by himself and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, expressing opposition to the tariff announcement, calling for de-escalation and proposing a phone call among 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 on this matter,” Støre said. “As for the Nobel Peace Prize, I have clearly explained — including to President Trump — that the prize is awarded by an independent Nobel Committee, not the Norwegian government.”

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

Trump has openly coveted the peace prize, which was awarded last year to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado. Last week, Machado presented her Nobel medal to Trump, who said he planned to keep it, though the committee has said the prize cannot be transferred or shared.

Tariffs and Tensions

Trump said the latest tariff threat was retaliation for the recent deployment of small numbers of European troops to Greenland, though he also suggested the tariffs were intended as leverage in negotiations with Denmark.

European governments said the troops were sent for Arctic security training, partly in response to Trump’s own warnings about growing Russian and Chinese interest in the region.

Starmer called the tariff threat “completely wrong” and said a trade war would benefit no one.

“Being pragmatic does not mean being passive, and partnership does not mean abandoning principles,” he said.

Six of the eight countries targeted are members of the European Union, which operates as a single trade bloc. European Council President Antonio Costa said Sunday that EU leaders had expressed “readiness to defend ourselves against any form of coercion.” A summit is expected later this week.

Starmer said Britain, which is no longer in the EU, is not planning retaliatory tariffs.

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

Denmark’s defense minister and Greenland’s foreign minister are scheduled to meet NATO Secretary