The last Nazis on Greenland were captured in October 1944, when American soldiers raided a hidden German weather station on the island’s desolate west coast and took dozens of prisoners. Within a year, Germany would be defeated and World War II would be over.

"All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland, where we already had it as a trustee, but respectfully returned it back to Denmark not long ago," Trump said.

The president's push to gain control of Greenland, a Danish territory, has created anxiety about the future of the alliance throughout Europe.

Hours later, Trump met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, often described by diplomats as the “Trump whisperer,” and announced a “framework of a future deal” on Arctic security. Markets surged, posting one of their best days in months.

Negotiators have discussed proposals to check Russian and Chinese influence in the Arctic and transfer sovereignty over pockets of Greenlandic land to the United States, an idea opposed by Denmark.

Thursday morning brought a sense of relief but also lingering anxiety across Europe, with unanswered questions about what Trump's new Greenland deal might entail.

By Jan Strupczewski and Lili Bayer BRUSSELS, Jan 22 (Reuters) - EU leaders will rethink their ties with the U.S. at an emergency summit on Thursday after Donald Trump's threat of tariffs and even military action to acquire Greenland badly shook confidence in the transatlantic relationship,

During a speech Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, President Trump said that he would not use force to take Greenland, an island the State Department says the United States needs to control to counter threats in the surrounding Arctic sea by Russia and China.

Trump's announcement of a 'framework of a future deal' marks a shift after weeks of threats from the United States. Here's what we know.

Trump’s envisioned multilayered “Golden Dome” could include space-based sensors to detect missiles. They could reduce the U.S. need for its Greenland-based radar station, said Marcuz, a former nuclear defense worker for France’s Defense Ministry, now with the Foundation for Strategic Research think tank in Paris.