This week, world leaders gathered in Davos for the World Economic Forum where President Trump announced the framework for a future deal on Greenland and signed the founding charter of his proposed Board of Peace; Ukraine, Russia, and the U.S. began the first trilateral peace talks since the start of the war in Ukraine following a meeting between senior U.S. officials and President Putin; and TikTok finalized a deal to create a new American entity following talks between the White House and China.
Read more below.
This Week’s Content Highlights
Features from Aspen Strategy Group Members
Nicholas Burns interviewed by David Gura for Bloomberg’s The Big Take podcast: “The Domino Effect of the ‘Donroe Doctrine’”
Kay Bailey Hutchison interviewed by Gayle King for CBS: “Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Breaks Down Trump’s Foreign Policy Approach to Greenland”
Chris Coons, Graham Allison, Kevin Rudd, Angela Zhang Huyue, Zhao Hai, and moderator Jaime Ho at the World Economic Forum in Davos: “U.S. and China: Where Will They Land?”
Elizabeth Economy interviewed Rowena He for the Hoover Institution’s China Considered podcast: “From Tiananmen to Hong Kong: Generations of Resistance With Rowena He”
Michael Froman for The New York Times: “Trump Is the Ultimate Davos Man”
David Ignatius for The Washington Post: “Europe Has Stopped Pretending”
Dina Powell McCormick interviewed by Mike Allen at the World Economic Forum: “Meta Exec on How AI Will Reshape America”
Meghan L. O’Sullivan and Robert Zoellick quoted by Farah Nayeri for The New York Times: “Global Leaders Gather in Switzerland to Ponder the Future of a Messy World”
David Petraeus interviewed by Andy Sauer for Sentinel Blue’s The Watchers podcast: “General David Petraeus on Strategic Leadership, Great-Power Competition & AI”
Susan Rice interviewed by Kaitlan Collins for CNN: “Susan Rice: Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ Lets Him ‘Play King of the World’”
David Rubenstein interviewed by Joe Kernen, Becky Quick, and Andrew Ross Sorkin for CNBC’s Squawk Box: “Carlyle’s David Rubenstein: The U.S. Economy Is Doing Reasonably Well”
David E. Sanger for The New York Times: “Trump Has an Offramp on Greenland. He Doesn’t Seem to Want It”
Anne-Marie Slaughter interviewed by Fareed Zakaria for GPS: “On GPS: Two Perspectives on the Trump-Europe Rift Over Greenland”
Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer for Vox Media’s The Long Game podcast: “Trump’s Greenland Gambit”
Philip Zelikow for the Hoover Institution’s Freedom Frequency: “Is There a U.S. Strategy for the ‘Western Hemisphere’?”
Post of the Week
Rising Leaders Program
Features from ASG Rising Leaders
Caleb Clemons (‘24) selected to be a Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ 2026 National Security Fellows Program participant
Rachel Myrick (‘21) interviewed by Cyanne Loyle, Candis Watts Smith, and Jenna Spinelle for WPSU’s Democracy Works: “How America’s Political Divides Affect Its Foreign Policy”
Things to Know
Content Relevant to Aspen Security Forum Discussions
Samer Al-Atrush for The Times: “U.S. Sends ISIS Prisoners From Syria to Iraq to Face Trial”
Monica Alba, Angela Yang, and Savannah Sellers for NBC News: “White House and China Finalize Deal to Sell U.S. TikTok Business to Investors Backed by Trump”
Robert D. Blackwill for the Council on Foreign Relations: “America Revived: A Grand Strategy of Resolute Global Leadership”
José de Córdoba, Vera Bergengruen, and Deborah Acosta for The Wall Street Journal: “The U.S. Is Actively Seeking Regime Change in Cuba by the End of the Year”
Magdalena Del Valle and Hadriana Lowenkron for Bloomberg: “Trump Launches Board of Peace Despite Discord From Allies”
Emma De Ruiter for Euronews: “U.S. Negotiators Meet Putin in Moscow for Overnight Ukraine Peace Talks”
France 24: “Zelensky Says U.S. ‘Security Guarantees’ for Ukraine Ready After Meeting With Trump”
Bonnie S. Glaser and Zack Cooper for Foreign Policy: “A Failed Chinese Invasion of Taiwan Would Be Disastrous for Xi Jinping”
Wolfgang Ischinger for The New York Times: “Trump’s Greenland Threats Will Boomerang on America”
Philippe Jacqué for Le Monde: “U.S. Announces Initial Withdrawal of Officers From NATO Structures”
Loveday Morris, Katharine Houreld, and Claire Parker for The Washington Post: “After Yemen Rift, Saudi Arabia Aims to Quash UAE’s Power in Wider Region”
Becky Morton for BBC News: “UK Approves Plans for Chinese Mega-Embassy”
James Politi, Richard Milne, Ben Hall, and Steff Chávez for the Financial Times: “Donald Trump Drops Tariff Threat Against Europe and Touts ‘Future’ Greenland Deal”
Tsubasa Suruga and Yuichi Nitta for Nikkei Asia: “Japan’s Takaichi Calls Feb. 8 Snap Election, Proposes Sales Tax Cut”
Konstantin Toropin and Michael Biesecker for AP News: “U.S. Forces Seize Seventh Sanctioned Tanker Linked to Venezuela in Trump’s Effort to Control Its Oil”
Alexander Ward, Michael R. Gordon, and Shelby Holliday for The Wall Street Journal: “Trump Seeks ‘Decisive’ Options for Iran as Assets Move Into Middle East”
From the Archives
Revisit our conversation on European security from the 2025 Aspen Security Forum: DC Edition.
The Future of European Security
Tristan Aureau, Director, Centre for Analysis, Planning, and Strategy, Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, France
Alejandro Cainzos, Head of Unit for External Economic Policy, Secretariat-General of the European Commission
Kersti Kaljulaid, Former President, Estonia
Robert Kupiecki, National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister, Undersecretary of State, Poland
Oliver Linz, Director of Policy Planning, Federal Foreign Office, Germany
Moderator: Peter Spiegel, The Washington Post
Book of the Week
A Story of War, Technology, and the Dirtiest Supply Chain on Earth
By Nicolas Niarchos
“Congo is rich. Swaths of the war-torn African country lack basic infrastructure, and, after many decades of colonial occupation, its people are officially among the poorest in the world. But hidden beneath the soil are vast quantities of cobalt, lithium, copper, tin, tantalum, tungsten, and other treasures. Recently, this veritable periodic table of resources has become extremely valuable because these metals are essential for the global ‘energy transition’—the plan for wealthy nations to wean themselves off fossil fuels by shifting to sustainable forms of energy, such as solar and wind. The race to electrify the world’s economy has begun, and China has a considerable head start….With unparalleled, original reporting, Nicolas Niarchos reveals how the scramble to control these metals and their production is overturning the world order, just as the global race to drill for oil shaped the twentieth century….He reveals the true, devastating consequences of our best intentions and helps us prepare for an uncertain future.”
Podcast of the Week
Grégoire Roos joined David Lubin and Bronwen Maddox for Chatham House’s Independent Thinking With Bronwen Maddox podcast: “Trump vs Carney at Davos: One Summit, Two Visions”
Intern with the Aspen Strategy Group!
The Aspen Strategy Group is seeking summer interns with a strong interest in foreign policy and national security. Interns will work closely with the ASG team to support all aspects of the planning and execution of the 2026 Aspen Security Forum. See the full internship description here. Applications close next Friday, January 30 at 5:00 PM ET.
Thank you for sharing this opportunity with your networks.
