Texts between Donald Trump, Jonas Støre, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Rutte

A series of text exchanges between Donald Trump and European leaders over the ownership of Greenland have been sensationally published.

The US president pledged to tell European leaders at this week’s forum in Davos, Switzerland, that “we will have to have” Greenland.

Diplomacy is traditionally seen as synonymous with discretion and most activities continue to take place behind closed doors.

The latest revelations, however, fall into another category.

Here are the messages in full and what experts told the BBC should read in them:

Published by Støre’s office following a Freedom of Information request from the BBC, January 18 at 3:48 p.m. (2:48 p.m. GMT)

Gahr store:

Dear Mr. President, dear Donald – on contacts across the Atlantic – on Greenland, Gaza, Ukraine – and your tariff announcement yesterday.

You know our position on these issues. But we believe we should all work to end this situation and defuse the situation. There is so much going on around us that we need to be united.

We offer a call later today – as a couple or separately – let us know which you prefer! Best – Alex [on behalf of Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb] and Jonah

Response from Trump, January 18 at 4:15 p.m. (3:15 p.m. GMT):

Dear Jonas: Since your country has decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for stopping 8 MORE wars, I no longer feel obligated to think only about peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and appropriate for the United States of America.

Denmark can’t protect these lands from Russia or China, and why do they have a “property right” anyway?

There are no written records, it’s just that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we also had boats landing there. I have done more for NATO than anyone since its founding, and now NATO should do something for the United States.

The world is not safe until we have complete and total control of Greenland. THANKS! President DJT

This is proof that “diplomatic norms have changed for some time and it’s not just President Trump,” former NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu told the BBC.

“It’s rather unusual for private messages between leaders to be made public, but it’s part of President Trump’s propensity to conduct his diplomacy in public. You could say it’s the ultimate megaphone diplomacy.”

Mark Weller, a professor at Cambridge University who has advised governments and international organizations, agrees.

“Exchanges between governments at a high level are usually carefully planned. This avoids misunderstandings and accidents when important points are answered without careful consideration,” explains Weller.

“This is no problem for President Trump, who thrives on disrupting expectations.”

But he notes that it is unusual “for the cold Norwegians to retaliate in the same way – there is clearly a feeling that fire must be fought with fire, in addition to personal frustration at the loss of any form of diplomacy.”

Posted on Truth Social by Trump, January 19, 5:01 p.m. (12:01 GMT):

From President Macron to President Trump

My friend,

We are fully online on Syria

We can do great things on Iran

I don’t understand what you are doing in Greenland

Let’s try to build big things:

1) I can organize a G7 meeting after Davos in Paris on Thursday afternoon. I can invite Ukrainians, Danes, Syrians and Russians on the sidelines

2) Let’s have dinner together in Paris on Thursday before returning to the United States

Emmanuelle

The disclosure of Macron’s texts could be “embarrassing” for the president, said former French diplomat Francios-Joseph Schichan, because some parts were “revealing.”

“At the beginning of the text, Macron clearly acknowledges something that he has not acknowledged in public, which is that he did not understand Trump’s behavior with Greenland,” Schichan told the BBC.

“I think it’s detrimental because you don’t want to be exposed like that, so it’s quite embarrassing.”

However, Schichan noted Macron’s invitation to Trump with a G7 meeting [group of most industrialised countries] it’s what he had to do, “which is not embarrassing, it’s just something he has to do.”

The texts further show how “Macron is trying to engage in classic diplomacy,” he said, warning, “it doesn’t work with Trump because he puts it on Truth Social and the plan explodes.”

“It’s another piece of global diplomacy that’s breaking down. Before, you could have a one-on-one conversation in private, but now you don’t know if it’s going to end up on social media.”

Posted on Truth Social by Trump, January 20, 01:53 (06:53 GMT):

Mr. President, dear Donald, what you have accomplished in Syria today is incredible. I will use my media engagements in Davos to highlight your work there, in Gaza and in Ukraine.

I am determined to find a way forward for Greenland. I can’t wait to see you.

Best regards, Marc

Similar to Macron, Rutte’s private message to Trump is “unusual”, said Lungescu, NATO’s longest-serving spokesperson, now a senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) defense think tank.

Lungescu said Rutte’s message was “consistent in what he says in public and in private” – while other leaders “may appear stronger in public and more conciliatory in private.”

“So there has been a lot of risk that what was private will no longer be private,” she said, adding that “if people are tempted to appear powerful on social media, that risks leading to further rhetorical escalation rather than working behind the scenes to find win-win solutions.”

“The diplomatic space will be focused on more phone calls and face-to-face meetings. In this case, it could bring us back to traditional diplomacy,” Lungescu said.

Marc Weller, who is also program director for international law at the Chatham House think tank and a former senior UN mediation expert, warns that “the tendency to publish as events happen makes serious, confidential crisis diplomacy really impossible where rapid and confidential action and dialogue are in fact necessary.”