Dutch caretaker prime minister Dick Schoof is one of the recipients of a letter by US president Donald Trump in which he outlines his reasoning for wanting to take over Greenland.

A government spokesman told local media that Schoof had the letter but declined to comment further on its contents. The letter was written to Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre and copied in to a number of other countries.

In it Trump states that “The World is not safe unless we have Complete and Total Control over Greenland.”

“Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace,” he said.

He went on to raise questions about Denmark’s role in Greenland. “Denmark cannot protect this land from Russia or China … The world is not safe unless we have complete and total control of Greenland,” he said.

NEW: @potus letter to @jonasgahrstore links @NobelPrize to Greenland, reiterates threats, and is forwarded by the NSC staff to multiple European ambassadors in Washington. I obtained the text from multiple officials:

Dear Ambassador:

President Trump has asked that the…

— Nick Schifrin (@nickschifrin) January 19, 2026

Støre told local media later the letter had “come in response to a short message to president Trump from me earlier in the day, on behalf of myself and the president of Finland, Alexander Stubb”.

The Netherlands is one of eight countries which Trump has threatened with tariffs after sending soldiers to the Arctic island to prepare for Nato exercises. The Netherlands sent two officials, who returned home on Monday.

Speaking to reporters ahead of coalition formation talks on Monday, D66 leader and prime minister in waiting Rob Jetten described the tariffs as “unprecedented”. It is extraordinary for the United States to take such steps against its own allies, he said.

Meanwhile, the European Commission is focusing on dialogue and de-escalation in the dispute with the US over Greenland, a spokesperson said on Monday.

Discussions at all levels since Saturday have aimed to prevent the additional duties Trump plans to impose from February 1, the spokesperson said. “The EU has consistently emphasised our shared trans-Atlantic interest in peace and security in the Arctic region, including through Nato.”

EU member states have drawn up plans to hit the US economically if Trump proceeds with the levies, although no decision has been taken yet. Government officials are due to meet in Brussels on Thursday to discuss the situation.

The EU could impose import duties on the US and a list worth around €93 billion has been ready since last summer. A more far-reaching option would be to activate an anti-coercion instrument which would allow the EU to block all imports of goods, services and investments from the US.