London, Jan. 21 (.): British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Wednesday he would not back down over Greenland despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs, insisting that economic pressure on allies was “completely wrong.”
Speaking during Prime Minister’s Questions, Starmer said Britain would not compromise its principles under threat. “I will not yield, Britain will not yield on our values and principles about the future of Greenland,” he told MPs, adding that the government would continue to engage “constructively” but had made its position “absolutely clear”.
“He deployed those words yesterday for the express purpose of putting pressure on me and Britain in relation to my values and principles on the future of Greenland,” Starmer said. “He wants me to yield on my position, and I am not going to do so,” he added.

Starmer reiterated that any decision on Greenland’s future “belongs to the people of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark alone,” underlining Britain’s stance amid rising tensions with Washington.

On Saturday, Trump said that the United States will impose 10-percent tariffs on all goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Britain, the Netherlands and Finland over Greenland starting on Feb. 1.
Those tariffs would increase to 25 percent on June 1, and would continue until a deal is reached for the United States to purchase Greenland, he said on social media.

He also accused Trump of seeking to apply pressure by criticizing Britain’s agreement to hand over the Chagos Islands, saying the language used marked a shift from Trump’s earlier, more supportive remarks during their meeting at the White House.

The Chagos Islands were separated from Mauritius in 1965, when Mauritius was still a British colony. Britain then invited the U.S. to build a military base there, which saw thousands removed from homes.
In 2019, the International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the UN, said that Britain had illegally split the islands and should give up control of them.

Last year, Starmer signed an agreement transferring sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. Under the agreement, Mauritius will lease the Diego Garcia military base back to Britain and the United States.

On Tuesday, Trump accused Britain of “great stupidity” over its decision to give up sovereignty of the islands.
. XINHUA .