IBM's vice chairman Gary Cohn, who advised Trump on the economy in his first term, said "Greenland will stay Greenland" and linked the need for access to critical minerals to his former boss's plans for the territory. Separately, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged people to "relax" and "let things play out" on the tariff threats against Europe over Greenland. Speaking at a news conference at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Bessent compared the reaction to Trump's announcement on US tariffs last year and claimed the current situation was different. Cohn made his name on Wall Street, where he rose to become president and chief operating office at the investment bank Goldman Sachs. He served under Trump as director of the White House National Economic Council from 2017 to 2018.

In a sign of how seriously business leaders are taking the crisis, he warned "invading an independent country that is part of Nato" would be "over the edge". He also suggested the president's recent comments about Greenland "may be part of a negotiation". "I just came from a US congressional delegation meeting, and I think there's pretty uniform consensus with both Republicans and Democrats that Greenland will stay Greenland," he said.

Greenland would be happy for the US to increase its military presence on the island, he said, with the North Atlantic and Arctic Ocean "becoming much more of a military threat". The US could also negotiate an "offtake" agreement for Greenland's vast yet largely untapped supplies of rare earth minerals, Cohn suggested. (BBC)