President-elect Donald Trump said he could not rule out the possibility of using military force or economic coercion, including increasing tariffs, when it comes to taking control of Greenland and the Panama Canal, reports CNN.
Asked by reporters during a speech at his Mar-a-Lago residence if he would rule out using "military or economic coercion" to achieve his goal of conquering those territories, the president-elect said "no."
He said that both territories are needed by the US for the "economic security" of the country.
Trump repeated that he plans to introduce "serious tariffs" on products from Canada and Mexico and announced that he will change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the American Gulf, writes N1.
He pointed out that he believes that each NATO member state should allocate 5 percent of its budget to defense, compared to at least two percent according to the current agreement.
At the same time, the Republican warned that he would reverse the ban on offshore oil and gas drilling announced by outgoing Democratic President Joe Biden to fight pollution.
"I will cancel it immediately. "I will lift the ban on oil and gas drilling in large areas on day one," he said.
