Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap for today!
US state secretary Marco Rubio has said that Nato “needs to be re-imagined,” saying that European allies need to rapidly increase their defence capabilities to be able to offer genuine security guarantees and reassurance even without the US backstop (17:07).
Ramping up pressure on European partners, Rubio said they have “not invested enough in their own defence” over the last few decades, noting that “hopefully that is changing”.
Rubio also said he was confident of getting to a “positive resolution” on Greenland, as “professional” talks get under way, away from “a media circus” to help with both sides’ flexibility in negotiations (17:10).
His comments come as the Danish and Greenlandic prime ministers continue their tour of European capitals to show solidarity with the territory, visiting France’s Emmanuel Macron earlier today (12:54, 14:14, 15:51).
They also come amid media reports that a Trump-allied Slovak prime minister Robert Fico was “shocked” and “worried” by Trump’s “psychological state” after meeting him in US earlier this month, a claim promptly and strongly denied by Fico himself (16:35, 16:59).
In other news,
The number of Russian and Ukrainian troops killed, wounded or gone missing in nearly four years of war could reach 2 million by this spring, according to a study contested by Moscow.
The leaders of three Dutch political parties have agreed a new coalition deal, paving the way for a rare minority government in the Netherlands almost three months after elections that produced an upset victory for the centrist D66 party (14:34, 14:35).
Hungarian prosecutors have brought charges against Budapest’s liberal mayor, Gergely Karácsony, over his role in arranging an LGBTQ+ rights rally, and are seeking to impose a fine without holding a trial.
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at [email protected].
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
Rubio confident of 'positive resolution' on Greenland through 'professional' talks, avoiding 'media circus'
Rubio also spoke about the US administration’s interest in Greenland, stressing “we’re in a good place right now,” and that he hoped for a positive resolution with Denmark.
“We had excellent meetings with the secretary general of Nato. In fact, even as I speak to you now, there’ll be some technical level meetings between us and our partners in Greenland and Denmark on this issue,” he said.
Rubio stressed Greenland was a “longstanding” national security interest for the US, but he was confident “we are going to get something positive done.”
“We’re going to begin that process in a very professional, straightforward way. It begins today, and it’ll be a regular process.
We’re going to try to do it in a way that isn’t like a media circus every time these conversations happen, because we think that creates, more flexibility on both sides to arrive at a positive outcome. And I think we’re going to get there.”
Updated
