The 56th World Economic Forum is running in Davos, Switzerland from 19 to 23 January. The theme is defined as A Spirit of Dialogue. This year, the importance of dialogue for resolving conflicts and finding consensus is being emphasized both in the forum's corridors and its main stages. This focus is not without reason. Recent events such as U.S. claims on Greenland and tariff threats have revealed significant discord in U.S.-European relations. Against this backdrop, the Ukrainian conflict, which was supposed to be the key theme, has effectively taken a back seat.
BelTA has compiled a list of the most important and resonant statements from the Davos forum, which largely reflect the beliefs, priorities, and sometimes the fears of the political elites.
U.S. President Donald Trump:
“Steve Whitkoff is doing incredibly with this, we won't have a third world war.”
"All we want from Denmark, for national and international security, and to keep our very energetic and dangerous potential enemies at bay, is this land on which we're going to build the greatest golden dome ever built… So, we want a piece of ice for world protection. And they won't give it. We've never asked for anything else, and we could have kept that piece of land, and we didn't. So, they have a choice. You can say ‘yes ‘and we will be very appreciative, or you can say ‘no’ and we will remember… It [Greenland deal] is really being negotiated now, the details of it. But essentially it's total access… it gives us everything we needed to get.”
“The problem with NATO is that, we'll be there for them 100%, but I'm not sure that they be there for us. If we gave them the call, ‘Gentlemen, we are being attacked. We're under attack by such and such a nation.’ I know them all very well, I'm not sure that they'd be there. I know we'd be there for them. I don't know that they'd be there for us.
“They don't appreciate what we do. I’m talking about NATO, I'm talking about Europe. They have to work on Ukraine, we don’t. The United States is very far away. We have a big, beautiful ocean separating us. We have nothing to do with it.”
“That's why issues like energy, trade, immigration and economic growth must be central concerns to anyone who wants to see a strong and united West. Because Europe and those countries have to do their thing. They have to get out of the culture that they've created over the last 10 years. It's horrible what they're doing to themselves. They're destroying themselves. It's beautiful, beautiful places. We want strong allies, not seriously weakened ones. We want Europe to be strong.”
"Once the board is formed we can do pretty much whatever we want to do. And we're going to do it in conjunction with the United Nations."
“Everybody wants to be on it [Board of Peace]. I have a little bit of the opposite problem: People want to be on it. We didn’t ask them. They want to get on... We want all nations where people have control [and] have power.”
“I'm a dictator. but sometimes you need a dictator.”
“It’s all based on common sense, you know, it’s not conservative or liberal or anything else”
“We live in an incredible, changing period. It's an unbelievable time, but we have to take advantage of the time, that we're in.”
U.S. President's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff:
“We’ve made a lot of progress on Ukraine... It's literally that comprehensive. And I think we've got it down to one issue and we have discussed iterations of that issue and that means it's solvable… If both sides want to solve this, we're going to get it solved. That is my view.”
“The Ukrainians have said that when 90% done and I agree with them. In fact, I think that we have made even more significant improvement over this past weekend… I know we have made more progress in the last six or seven weeks since Geneva than we have made in the last three or four years.”
“The president has talked about a tariff-free zone from Ukraine that I think would be game changing.
You'll see industry move into that area in a huge way. Imagine you get to out compete because you're not paying tariffs and sending goods into the United States.”
Russian President’s Special Envoy Kirill Dmitriev:
“The meetings are constructive. More and more people are realizing the correctness of Russia’s position.”
“The attempt to make Ukraine the main topic of Davos has failed.”
“Warmongers begging for the war to continue by giving false promises.”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte:
"It is necessary to ensure that the Chinese and the Russians will not gain access to Greenland’s economy and military”
“We have to keep the flow of military support going [to Ukraine], and don’t lose sight of this issue.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen:
“When it comes to the security of the Arctic region, Europe is fully committed. And we share the objectives of the United States in this regard.”
“This is why Europe is preparing its own security strategy, which we plan to publish later this year. As part of this, we are upgrading our Arctic strategy too.”
“We are working on a massive European investment surge in Greenland… We will work with Greenland and Denmark hand in hand to see how we can further support the local economy and infrastructure. We will work with the US and all partners on wider Arctic security. This is clearly in our shared interest, and we will step up our investment [in Greenland’s economy and Arctic security].”
French President Emmanuel Macron:
“It’s as well a shift towards a world without rules. Where international law is trampled underfoot.”
“The United States is trying to weaken Europe and demanding ever greater concessions… Europe has very strong tools now, and we have to use them when we are not respected, and when the rules of the game are not respected.”
“The craziest thing is that we may find ourselves in a situation where, for the first time in history, we use countermeasures against the United States. Can you imagine that?”
“Let us not accept a world order defined by those who claim to have the loudest voice or the biggest stick… Let us not waste time on reckless ideas. Let us not open Pandora’s box.”
“I want to restore the G7 as a forum for frank dialogue among major economies, and for collective and cooperative solutions… The objective of the G7 is to build bridges and more cooperation with the developing countries, the BRICS and the G20.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz:
“The world around us is changing at an unprecedented pace. The direction it takes must worry us. A world of great powers is a new reality. Europe has gotten the message. Germany has as well gotten the message. We must and will live up to these challenges. My government will do its homework and pursue an ambitious reform agenda revolving around security, competitiveness, and European unity.”
“I welcome President Trump’s statement yesterday [that the United States will not seize Greenland by military means]. This is the right path. Any threat of seizing European territories by force is unacceptable.”
“I do not say this lightly. In the 20th century, my country, Germany, followed that path to its bitter end, dragging the world into a dark abyss with it.”
“When it comes to the security of the Arctic region, Europe is fully committed. And we share the objectives of the United States in this regard.”
“This is why Europe is preparing its own security strategy, which we plan to publish later this year. As part of this, we are upgrading our Arctic strategy too.”
“We are working on a massive European investment surge in Greenland… We will work with Greenland and Denmark hand in hand to see how we can further support the local economy and infrastructure. We will work with the US and all partners on wider Arctic security. This is clearly in our shared interest, and we will step up our investment [in Greenland’s economy and Arctic security].”
French President Emmanuel Macron:
“It’s as well a shift towards a world without rules. Where international law is trampled underfoot.”
“The United States is trying to weaken Europe and demanding ever greater concessions… Europe has very strong tools now, and we have to use them when we are not respected, and when the rules of the game are not respected.”
“The craziest thing is that we may find ourselves in a situation where, for the first time in history, we use countermeasures against the United States. Can you imagine that?”
“Let us not accept a world order defined by those who claim to have the loudest voice or the biggest stick… Let us not waste time on reckless ideas. Let us not open Pandora’s box.”
“I want to restore the G7 as a forum for frank dialogue among major economies, and for collective and cooperative solutions… The objective of the G7 is to build bridges and more cooperation with the developing countries, the BRICS and the G20.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz:
“The world around us is changing at an unprecedented pace. The direction it takes must worry us. A world of great powers is a new reality. Europe has gotten the message. Germany has as well gotten the message. We must and will live up to these challenges. My government will do its homework and pursue an ambitious reform agenda revolving around security, competitiveness, and European unity.”
“I welcome President Trump’s statement yesterday [that the United States will not seize Greenland by military means]. This is the right path. Any threat of seizing European territories by force is unacceptable.”
“I do not say this lightly. In the 20th century, my country, Germany, followed that path to its bitter end, dragging the world into a dark abyss with it.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney:
“The old order is not coming back. We should not mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy.”
“It means naming reality. Call it what it is – a system of intensifying great power rivalry, where the most powerful pursue their interests, using economic integration as coercion.”
“The question for middle powers like Canada is not whether to adapt to the new reality – we must. The question is whether we adapt by simply building higher walls, or whether we can do something more ambitious.”
“Middle powers must act together, because if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu.”
“Great powers can afford, for now, to go it alone. They have the market size, the military capacity and the leverage to dictate terms. Middle powers do not.”
Vice Premier of China’s State Council He Lifeng:
“The rules must apply equally to everyone. A handful of countries should not enjoy privileges based on their strength, and the world must not return to the law of the jungle, where the strong will eat the weak.”
“Tariff and trade wars have no winners. Beyond driving up costs for production and trade, they fragment the world economy forward and disrupt the global distribution of resources.”
“We firmly support free trade and jointly promote a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization.”
“China will open its doors still wider to the world. It will actively expand market access and open more areas, particularly in the service sector.”
World Economic Forum President Børge Brende:
“There’s no way we can move the world forward without starting to speak with each other.”
“Dialogue is not a luxury. It is a necessity. When more than 65 heads of state and government come together, the goal is to find common ground, even in difficult times. Of course, we can only bring the horses to the well. We cannot force them to drink the water.”
“It’s a moment of uncertainty but also possibility.”
Vita KHANATAYEVA,
BelTA
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