New Delhi [India], January 22 : Former Ambassador to Italy Anil Waashwa on Thursday said US President Donald Trump's address at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos touched upon several critical global issues, highlighting what he described as a calculated negotiating strategy, particularly on the Greenland question.
"I think there were some very important issues that he has raised. Everything which concerns the state of the world today. The Greenland issue was widely watched," he said.
Reacting to Trump's speech, Waashwa noted that the Greenland issue drew widespread attention due to the US President's shift in stance. "Trump had started off with a maximalist position about taking over Greenland by force," Waashwa said, adding that the President's subsequent willingness to negotiate marked a significant change in tone.
"Today he said that he is willing to negotiate on Greenland. What that gives him is a position of strength as far as the EU, Denmark and Greenland are concerned," he added.
According to Waashwa, this shift strengthens Trump's bargaining position vis-a-vis the European Union, Denmark and Greenland. "Coming down from that position into a position where he is willing to negotiate means that others will be forced to also go into that mode," he explained.
The former diplomat described the move as a deliberate tactic rather than a spontaneous adjustment. "I think it's a negotiating strategy which he possibly had in mind from the very beginning," Waashwa said, suggesting that Trump's approach at Davos reflected a broader method of asserting leverage on key international issues.
However, referring to Iran, Trump pointed to US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites last June and claimed they had "obliterated" Iran's nuclear capacity. He further said that Tehran "does want to talk, and will talk".
Trump also mentioned US operations against ISIL (ISIS) in Syria, saying "many good things are happening," and claimed that threats to Europe, the US and the Middle East "are really calming down". "Just one year ago, the world was actually on fire," he said. "A lot of people didn't know it."
Trump's remarks at Davos came days after he repeated a warning that Iran would be wiped "off the face of this earth" if Tehran ever succeeded in assassinating him.