United States President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he understands the Russian feeling with NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) being on their doorstep.
Trump also refused to rule out the use of military force to take control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, and 'economic force' to acquire Canada.
While addressing a press conference at Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Tuesday (local time), Trump was asked whether he would rule out using 'military or economic coercion' to achieve his goal of gaining those territories.
He responded, "No, I can't assure you on either of those two, but I can say this, we need them for economic security."
Trump said Denmark should give up its control of Greenland or it would face high tariffs.
He suggested people of Greenland could vote for independence or to become the part of the United States.
He said, "I'm talking about protecting the free world."
In response to a question on Ukraine, Trump told reporters, "You know, a big part of the problem was Russia for many, many years, long before (Russian President, Vladimir) Putin said, you could never have NATO involved with Ukraine. Now they've said -- that's been like written in stone. Somewhere along the line (US President, Joe) Biden said no, they should be able to join NATO. Well, then Russia has somebody right on their doorstep and I could understand their feeling about that."
"There were a lot of mistakes made in that negotiation. When I heard the way that Biden was negotiating, I said you're going to end up in a war and it turned out to be a very bad war. That war could escalate to be much worse than it is right now," he said.
"My view is that it was always understood. In fact, I believe that they had a deal and then Biden broke it. They had a deal which would have been a satisfactory deal to Ukraine and everybody else. But Biden said, no, you have to be able to join NATO.
"That's always been, and nobody knows more about NATO than I. You know, years ago when I first started this, I didn't know too much about NATO, but I got it right anyway," he said.
Trump also told reporters that he wants NATO members to contribute five per cent of their GDP. NATO should have five per cent, he said.
"Well, you can't do it at two. I mean at two per cent, if you're going to have a country and a regular military, you're at four per cent. I think they're in dangerous territory. They can all afford it, but they should be at five per cent, not two per cent. I'm the one that got him to pay two per cent," he said.
"They're taking advantage. I'm the one that got, and the (NATO) secretary general was here two weeks ago, saying that if it weren't for me, NATO wouldn't even exist right now. Because I raised, from countries that weren't paying their bills, at that time 28 countries, 20 of them were not paying their bills, 21 to be exact," he asserted.
"They weren't paying or they were paying a very small portion, and I raised over USD 680 billion, that was the number he gave, by saying, if you don't pay, we're not going to protect you. As soon as I said that, the money came pouring in. But Obama could have said it, other people could have said it, Bush could have said it. Nobody said it but me. I took a lot of heat," he said.
"They said, that's a threatening statement. Well, they weren't paying their bills. I said we're not going to protect you if you're not paying the bills. So, in a true sense, I saved NATO, but NATO has taken advantage of us. And one of the problems that I have, and I've said it openly, I said it to President Zelenskyy," Trump said.
"Europe is in for a tiny fraction of the money that we're in. Now, whether you like that situation or not, Europe is much more affected than the United States. We have a thing called the ocean in between us. Why are we in for billions and billions of dollars more money than Europe? And you know, they're a similar size, a little smaller, but they're a similar size economy as the United States when you add them up. And yet Europe is in for a small fraction of the number the United States is in," he said.
"I said you have to pay your bills and they all -- one stood up, I won't say who, you'll probably have it because the papers -- the media hated to report on it. But a prime minister stood up from a country, you know, a famous meeting of 28 nations with no press, he stood up and he says, does that mean if we don't pay our bill, I said, if you don't pay, you mean you're delinquent? He said, yes. I said, if you're delinquent, we will not protect you," Trump said.
Since his election, Trump has repeatedly expressed his interest in gaining control of the Panama Canal and Greenland. Trump for the first time on Tuesday suggested using the military to achieve his goal, according to a CNN report.
Trump said later that he would only use 'economic force' and not military force against Canada. When asked whether he would also use the military to acquire Canada, Trump responded, "No, economic force."
He continued, "You get rid of that artificially drawn line and you take a look at what that looks like -- and it would also be much better for national security."
In recent weeks, Trump in his social media posts has said that Canada should become the 51st state of the US.
He even used Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's announcement of his plan to step down as PM and Liberal Party leader to reiterate his stance that Canada becomes the 51st state of the US.
During the press conference on Tuesday, Trump criticised former US President Jimmy Carter's decision to hand control of the Panama Canal back to Panama during his presidency, CNN reported.
Carter, who passed away at the age of 100 on December 29, negotiated treaties that provided for the handover of the Panama Canal to Panama.
He said, "The Panama Canal is a disgrace."
Trump said, "What took place at the Panama Canal, Jimmy Carter gave it to them for $1 and they were supposed to treat us well."
The US President-elect said that he wants to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. He said, "We're going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring. That covers a lot of territory, the Gulf of America -- what a beautiful name. And it's appropriate."
He slammed the Biden administration's handling of the transition ahead of his inauguration ceremony on January 20. Trump said the Biden administration is 'trying everything they can to make it more difficult' and wants to 'block the reforms of the American people and that they voted for', according to CNN.
"They say we're going to have a smooth transition. All they do is talk. It's all talk. Everything they do is talk, 'We're going to have a smooth transition.' And then they take 625 million acres, and they essentially landmark it, so you can't ever drill there again. Well, we're going to be drilling soon," he said.
Trump's remarks come a day after US Congress certified his election victory with no objections from any lawmakers as the tally of states was announced on the House floor.
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'All hell will break out in the Middle East'
Trump also warned that 'all hell will break out in the Middle East' if the hostages being held by Hamas are not released by Inauguration Day, repeating the threat four times.
Trump did not elaborate on what actions he might take if the captives are not released by the time he takes office.
Officials say about 100 hostages, including some Americans, who were seized on October 7, 2023, remain captive in Gaza, though they believe many of them may have died in captivity.
"All hell will break out. If those hostages aren't back, I don't want to hurt your negotiation, if they're not back by the time I get into office, all hell will break out in the Middle East," Trump told reporters at the news conference.
He was responding to a question on the status of negotiations with Hamas on the release of American hostages. His Special Envoy to the Middle East Steven Charles Witkoff, who has just returned from the region, told reporters that they are on the verge of it.
"I believe we've been on the verge of it. I don't want to discuss sort of what's delayed it, no point in being negative in any way. But I think it's the president, his stature, what he's said he expects, the red lines he's put out there, that's driving this negotiation," Witkoff said.
Noting that they are making a lot of progress, he said: "I don't want to say too much because I think they're doing a really good job back in Doha. I'm leaving tomorrow to go back to Doha. But I think that we've had some really great progress and I'm really hopeful that by the inauguration we'll have some good things to announce on behalf of the president."
"I actually believe that we're working in tandem in a really good way, but it's the president, his reputation, the things that he has said that are driving this negotiation. So hopefully it'll all work out and we'll save some lives," Witkoff said.
Negotiations between Hamas and Israel are ongoing in Qatar, with Hamas this week naming 34 hostages in Gaza including two dual US citizens -- it would be willing to release in a ceasefire deal, the National Public Radio reported.
Trump, in response to a question, warned Hamas to release all the hostages by January 20.
"It will not be good for Hamas and it will not be good frankly for anyone. All hell will break out. I don't have to say anymore, but that's what it is. They should have given them back a long time ago -- they should have never taken them. There should have never been the attack of October 7th. People forget that, but there was and many people were killed," he said.
"They're no longer hostages. I have people from Israel and others calling, begging me to get we also had people there from the United States just so you know. They're holding some so-called hostages from the US, but I've had mothers come to me and fathers crying, can I get the body of their son back? Can I get the body of their daughter back?" he said.
"That beautiful girl where they threw her in the car, pulled her by her ponytail and threw her in the car like she was a sack of potatoes. I said, what happened to her? Sir, she's dead. Like a 19, 20-year-old, beautiful girl. The way they treated her," he said as he applauded his special envoy for the progress being made so far.
"I tell this, I don't want to hurt the negotiation. If the deal isn't done before I take office, which is now going to be two weeks, all hell will break out in the Middle East," Trump said.
The Biden administration has unsuccessfully tried to help broker a ceasefire in Gaza for well over a year.
The first ceasefire -- weeks after the October 7 attack -- saw the release of dozens of hostages, but subsequent efforts to pause the fighting and secure the release of additional hostages have gone nowhere.
-- with ANI inputs
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