Former Tunisian foreign minister and diplomat Ahmed Ounaies commented on Thursday, January 22, 2026, in a statement to Tunisie Numérique, on Spain’s call for European Union member states to create a joint army tasked with deterrence, following recent threats by U.S. President Donald Trump regarding Greenland.
Ounaies described the situation as a clear “divorce” between European countries and Canada on one side, and the United States on the other. He explained that this rupture, initiated by Washington, reflects a profound disagreement over the geopolitical map that emerged after World War II. According to him, this map is now being unilaterally challenged by Donald Trump, pushing Europe to realize that it must rely on itself to ensure the core defense and security of the continent.
The former diplomat stressed that Europe has also concluded that any transfer of sovereignty over Greenland is impossible. While this is obvious to Western European capitals, Trump appears to hold a contrary view, which, in Ounaies’ assessment, confirms that the world is witnessing an unprecedented split within the Western family that has been united since 1945 in its global strategy toward Asia, Africa, and the rest of the world. He said this marks the beginning of a new phase in global political thinking and power structures.
Turning to the Arab world, Ounaies noted that Arab countries are not direct parties to this dispute, but for the first time they are observing a deep and strategic conflict between the pillars of the Western alliance, which had emerged victorious from both World War II and the collapse of the Soviet Union. He regretted that the Arab world remains divided and lacks unity, adding that a strong Maghreb Union could have rapidly assessed the consequences of this split and adopted measures to strengthen Africa’s position in the face of Israel, an ally of all Western powers.
Ounaies also argued that the international system is heading toward greater fragmentation. However, he underlined that Donald Trump’s domestic support base in the United States is not solid and itself questions many of his policies. He predicted that once Trump’s presidential term ends, several of his initiatives concerning both Europe and the American continent will likely be reversed, describing them as a temporary three-year phase.
Regarding the prospect of a European army, the former minister ruled out the possibility of a war between the European Union and the United States, considering even the outbreak of such a conflict highly unlikely due to the absence of any real desire for confrontation between former close allies.
He nevertheless pointed out that the presence of symbolic, non-combat-ready military units in Greenland could be sufficient to deter any U.S. attempt to impose control, as it would place American forces in a politically and strategically complex position without leading to direct military escalation.
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