Donald Trump’s rhetoric can be ‘destabilising’, David Lammy suggests

The “intensity” of the “rhetoric” from US President-elect Donald Trump can be “destabilising”, the Foreign Secretary has suggested.

David Lammy told the BBC that he believes Mr Trump’s comments earlier in the week about Greenland – in which he made clear that he would want the territory under US control – come from his concerns about US economic security.

He also poured cold water on the idea of a deal between Ukraine and Russia being reached in Mr Trump’s first days in office, believing there is “no evidence” that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to come to the table to negotiate.

His comments come after a press conference earlier this week in which the incoming US president suggested that the US could annex Greenland as well as the Panama Canal, which he claimed were at risk from the influence of Russia and China.

Greenland

Asked whether the US should be allowed to buy Greenland, Mr Lammy told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think that we know from Donald Trump’s first term that the intensity of his rhetoric and the unpredictability sometimes of what he said can be destabilising.

“He did it with Nato. But in fact, in practice, he sent more troops to Europe under his administration. He sent the first javelins and weapons to Ukraine under his administration.”

“Here, I suspect on Greenland what he’s targeting is his concerns about Russia and China in the Arctic, is his concerns about national economic security.

“He recognises I’m sure that in the end Greenland today is a kingdom of Denmark. There is a debate in Greenland about their own self-determination. But behind it I think are his concerns about the Arctic.”

Ukraine

Mr Lammy’s interview comes before a meeting between Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, where the issue of Ukraine is likely to be among the topics discussed.

There have been concerns about what Mr Trump’s return to the White House could mean for US support for Ukraine. He had previously laid out a desire to bring an end to the conflict in his first days in office.

Mr Lammy told Radio 4 that he thinks it is “unlikely” that a deal could be achieved on January 21, and he sees “no evidence that Putin wants to come to the table to negotiate” to end the war.

Asked whether he thought Ukraine would have to give up some of its sovereign land, Mr Lammy said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has “set out his own plans” and been “generous about Donald Trump” as well as being “clear that that does take security guarantees” pointing to Nato membership.

Mr Lammy went on: “I suspect becoming part of the EU would be important in relation to that, that would be part of the negotiation.

“Donald Trump is not yet in power. I think the indications are, from what I’ve seen over the last few days, a slight pushback on this sense that somehow a deal will be achieved on January 21, I think that’s now unlikely. And we’re hearing this actually the timetable’s moved down somewhat…towards Easter.”

Mr Lammy also said that Mr Trump would need to lay out “his own roadmap” if he was to reach the 5% defence spending target he has tried to set for other Nato allies.

The US president-elect has called for all members of the transatlantic alliance to more than double their defence commitment, which is currently set at 2% of gross domestic product (GDP).

The UK currently spends 2.3% of GDP on defence and is committed to raising this to 2.5%, while America spends some 3.4% of GDP.

Asked on the Today programme whether the UK would get to 5%, the Foreign Secretary said: “Before we talk about what we might get to I think you ought to be clear that the United States is spending 3.38% of GDP in defence.

“So he would have to set out his own roadmap how they were going to get to 5%.

“Again, what is behind his rhetoric? Behind his rhetoric is a recognition that China is spending significantly more, that Russia is spending significantly more, we remain concerned about North Korea.

“We’ve got to get serious about defence spending. That’s why we’re heading to 2.5% and that’s why Mark Rutte, the secretary-general of Nato, has also been raising these issues and how we might do better across the Nato alliance.”