“People thought I would use force, but I don’t have to use force,” Trump said at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Switzerland.

“I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force,” he said.

Trump made the comments in a closely-watched economic speech that has been overshadowed by fraying transatlantic ties and tensions with Europe over his push to acquire Greenland.

He downplayed the issue as a “small ask” over a “piece of ice” and that an acquisition would be no threat to the Nato alliance that includes Denmark and the US.

“No nation or group of nations is in any position to be able to secure Greenland other than the US,” Trump said, adding: “I’m seeking immediate negotiations to once again to discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the US”.

Trump, who marked the end of a turbulent first year in office on Tuesday, is set to overshadow the agenda of the WEF, where global elites chew over economic and political trends.

Nato leaders have warned that Trump’s Greenland strategy could upend the alliance, while the leaders of Denmark and Greenland have offered a wide array of ways for a greater US presence on the strategic island territory of 57,000 people.

“We want a piece of ice for world protection, and they won’t give it,” Trump said in his speech to a congress hall packed with business and political leaders.