Postcard from Nuuk, Greenland. Photo: Thomas Letholsen
THE ARCTIC INSTITUTE | Published January 10, 2025
US President-elect Donald Trump’s statements about acquiring Greenland not exempting economic or military means received critical reactions from Russian officials. They called the development “dramatic” and predict “uncertainty and tension in the region.” Some Russian political commentators celebrated Trump’s statements while others expressed skepticism and noted the potential implications for Russia.
This commentary presents only a small selection of the early reactions from Russia on Trump’s Greenland acquisition proposal. The news broke during Russia’s extended New Year and Christmas holiday period, when many Moscow commentators are on vacation, so we may expect more reactions in the coming weeks.
With criticism, cheer and apathy, the commentary landscape is more diverse than suggested in some articles that have emerged this week. All in all, Russian commentators generally see the proposal as unorthodox to say the least, generally counterproductive, and leaning towards provocative.
The Kremlin keeping an eye on “dramatic” developments
Trump’s statements, which involved mention of “Russian ships all over the place” around Greenland, received disapproving reactions from Russian officials and diplomats. The Russian president’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov, said “We are watching very closely this rather dramatic development of the situation, so far, thank God, at the level of statements.”
Peskov emphasized that Moscow is interested in keeping the Arctic peaceful and stable and that the region is a zone of Russia’s national and strategic interests. While the Kremlin is keeping an eye on Trump’s proposals regarding Greenland, Peskov expressed that Moscow believes the situation is part of Washington’s bilateral relations with Copenhagen.
Meanwhile, Peskov noted Europe’s “timid” response, noting that “Europe is reacting very cautiously, modestly, quietly, almost in a whisper.” The Russian official also took the opportunity to connect the situation to Russia’s military actions in Ukraine. If everyone is highlighting the need to listen to the aspirations of the Greenlandic people, “then, probably, we still need to remember about the opinions of the people of the four new regions of the Russian Federation and we need to show the same respect for the opinions of these people,” said Peskov.
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SOURCE: www.thearcticinstiture.com
RELATED: Russia’s Greenland warning to Trump: Kremlin tells US ‘we are present in the Arctic zone’ and says it is ‘watching’ after Donald’s refusal to rule out using military force to seize vast territory
‘We are very closely watching this rather dramatic development of the situation, which is, thank God, at the level of statements so far,’ Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Putin’s regime, said
DAILYMAIL ONLINE | Published January 10, 2025
The Kremlin has issued a warning to Trump over Greenland, telling him that Russia is ‘watching’ and ‘present in the Arctic zone’ after the US President-elect refused to rule out using military force to seize the vast territory.
Trump refused to rule out military action to take control of the Arctic island at a press conference Tuesday and had earlier vowed to slap high tariffs on Denmark if it refused to cede its autonomous territory.
‘We are very closely watching this rather dramatic development of the situation, which is, thank God, at the level of statements so far,’ Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in response to Trump’s comments.
‘We are present in the Arctic zone, and we will continue to be present there,’ he added. ‘We are interested in preserving peace and stability in this zone and are ready to co-operate with any parties for this peace and stability.’
He also suggested the people of Greenland be consulted about what they wanted, pointing to Russia’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions in 2022 based on referendums.
‘We should show the same respect for the opinion of these people,’ Peskov said. Western countries and Kyiv denounced Russia’s annexations of four regions in Ukraine as illegal and the referendums as a sham.
Peskov said that US attempts to gain Greenland, that date back to the 19th Century, were a matter for the United States and Denmark, but he noted that Europe was reacting very cautiously to Trump’s statements.
‘Europe reacts very timidly and it is of course scary to react to Trump’s words, therefore Europe reacts very cautiously, modestly, quietly, almost in a whisper,’ Peskov said.
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SOURCE: www.dailymail.co.uk
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