GENEVA, January 20. /TASS/. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated that he sees no threat to the North Atlantic Alliance despite disagreements between the USA and European countries regarding Greenland.

"I think that the NATO alliance is very safe," Bessent said at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in response to a question about how the mentioned disagreements affect the alliance.

According to him, "thanks to [US] President [Donald] Trump, it [NATO - TASS] has never been more secure." Bessent also emphasized that the "United States of America since 1980 has contributed 22 trillion more dollars, or spent 22 trillion more dollars on defense than all of NATO."

Trump has repeatedly emphasized the importance of Greenland joining the US. During his first term, he proposed buying the island, and in March 2025, he said it could be annexed. On January 17, Trump announced on Truth Social that the US would impose a 10% tariff on goods from the UK, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, France, and Sweden. The tariff will remain in effect until the parties reach an agreement on Washington’s "complete and total acquisition" of Greenland. The tariff will take effect on February 1, and increase to 25% on June 1.

Greenland is Denmark’s autonomous territory. In 1951, Washington and Copenhagen signed the Greenland Defense Agreement in addition to their NATO alliance commitments. Under the treaty, the US committed to defend the island from potential aggression.