Munich Security Conference (MSC) chief Wolfgang Ischinger has described the ongoing dispute over U.S. President Donald Trump’s bid to acquire Greenland as a “circus.”

Mr Ischinger argued that the energy spent on the row should be used to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Mr Trump’s ambitions to take over the Arctic territory, which was part of NATO ally Denmark, dominated the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

It was a major gathering of policymakers and business leaders, traditionally used for exchanging views on a range of issues.

“All I can say is: point missed,” Mr Ischinger said on a morning programme aired by German public broadcaster ZDF on Friday.

“We should have sent a signal from Davos to the Russian side that this war must finally come to an end,” he said.

He described the dispute among Western allies over Greenland as “completely unnecessary and harmful.”

In a surprise U-turn in Davos on Wednesday, Mr Trump said he would not use force to seize Greenland, the world’s largest island, which he claimed the U.S. needed to control for national security reasons.

He also walked back threats to impose new tariffs on eight European NATO allies who have opposed his takeover bid, including Denmark and Germany.

Following talks with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in the Swiss town on Wednesday evening, Mr Trump said that a framework for a future agreement on Greenland and the entire Arctic region had been established.

He said this without revealing further details.

Mr Ischinger said he believed Mr Trump’s change of course was due to the threat of European retaliatory tariffs, the careful approach taken by European leaders, and headwinds from within the U.S. itself.

Last week, Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski and Democrat Jeanne Shaheen introduced a bill that would bar the Trump administration from annexing or occupying.

Otherwise, controlling the territory of a NATO ally without the consent of the partner nation.

Meanwhile, Mr Ischinger stressed the importance of keeping Trump on board, noting that it would not be possible to pressure Russia into ending the war in Ukraine without the U.S.

(dpa/NAN)