Russia eyes Trump’s “extraordinary” Greenland grab, plots Arctic expansion

The Kremlin said it is closely watching the “extraordinary” situation around the self-governing Danish territory of Greenland, as European NATO allies deploy forces to the Arctic island for military exercises in a show of unity against U.S. President Donald Trump’s aggressive push to secure control of it for Washington.

Russia said it would strengthen its defense capabilities and infrastructure in the Arctic and called NATO’s exercises a provocation, while dismissing Trump’s claim that Moscow or China would eventually take control of Greenland if the U.S. did not. Trump says the U.S. needs Greenland because it is vital to its national security and that NATO would be better off, too.

“The situation is unusual—I would even say extraordinary from the standpoint of international law,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday morning, originally in Russian, according to state news agency TASS.

Trump has indicated that “international law does not represent any kind of priority [or] substance for him,” Peskov said. “Therefore, the situation is developing along some other trajectory. Together with the entire world, we will watch which one.”

Peskov also said the Greenland situation is “very contradictory,” noting the U.S. push to take control from Denmark, perhaps via a purchase of the strategically important island, despite a repeated rejection of this idea from leaders in both Nuuk and Copenhagen. We proceed from the assumption that Greenland is a territory of the Kingdom of Denmark,” Peskov said.

On Thursday, as troops from Denmark and other NATO allies began to arrive in Greenland for military exercises, dubbed Operation Arctic Endurance, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called it “yet another provocation” by Western powers in the region and warned of “serious consequences”.

“It is important to understand that any attempts to ignore Russia’s interests in the Arctic, especially in the sphere of security, will not go unanswered and will have far-reaching consequences,” Zakharova said.

“Our country will continue to firmly defend its positions in the region in order to ensure its sustainable socio-economic development, the preservation of the natural environment, cultural heritage, and the traditional way of life of Indigenous peoples.

“We will continue a course aimed at strengthening national sovereignty in the Arctic zone, first and foremost our own defense capabilities and the infrastructure of the Northern Sea Route.”

She also said that “we agree with China’s position on the unacceptability of references” to Russian and Chinese activity around Greenland as “a reason for the current aggravation.”

This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow. 

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