Did Putin just back Trump’s Greenland takeover? What could this mean?

Is Vladimir Putin backing US President Donald Trump’s plan to take Greenland?

Putin in a speech in Russia has seemingly come out in favour of Trump’s plan to take over the traditional US ally and NATO member.

The development comes in the backdrop of a visit to Greenland by US Vice-President JD Vance and his wife Usha.

Trump, who claims he wants the semi-autonomous, mineral-rich, Danish territory for purposes of ‘national security,’ first proposed buying it in 2019.

The Greenland and Denmark governments have rejected Trump’s plan out of hand.

What did Putin say? Is he backing the plan? What could this mean?

What about the history between Russia and Greenland?

Let’s take a closer look:

What did Putin say?

As per CNBC, the Russian president made the remarks during a speech in Murmansk – the largest city north of the Arctic circle.

Putin, referring to Trump wanting to buy Greenland, said, “It is a profound mistake to treat it as some preposterous talk by the new US administration. Nothing of the sort.”

Putin pointed out that the United States had made such plans “as far back as the 1860s.”

He also said that US offered to buy Greenland from Denmark after World War II.

“In short, the United States has serious plans regarding Greenland. These plans have long historical roots, as I have just mentioned, and it is obvious that the United States will continue to consistently advance its geo-strategic, military-political and economic interests in the Arctic,” Putin said.

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As per BBC, he also said that “geopolitical competition in the region”  and promised he would “strengthen Russia’s global leadership in the Arctic", while warning that “geopolitical competition in the region.”

Moscow was concerned that “NATO countries in general are increasingly designating the far north as a springboard for possible conflicts, practising the use of troops in these conditions, including by their ’new recruits’, Finland and Sweden,” he said, referring to the alliance’s latest members.

Russia was monitoring the situation and building a response, including by boosting its military capabilities in the region.

“We will not allow encroachments on the sovereignty of our country and will reliably protect our national interests,” Putin said.

“Russia has never threatened anyone in the Arctic, but we will closely follow the developments and mount an appropriate response by increasing our military capability and modernising military infrastructure,” Putin said, as per Politico.

What could this mean?

Putin seems to be floating the idea that the US and Russia could work together in the Arctic.

The Kremlin in February suggested that Russia and the US could work together to develop natural resources.

This is being echoed by his top officials.

BBC quoted Kirill Dmitriev, President Putin’s envoy for foreign investment and economic cooperation as saying, “We are open to considering different investment opportunities that we can do jointly with the US, in certain sectors approved by the Russian government.”

Dmitriev, chief executive of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, has held talks with US officials.

“We are open for investment cooperation in the Arctic. That could be in logistics, or other areas beneficial to Russia and to the US,” Dmitriev added.

Dmitriev told reporters last month that Russia and the US should develop joint energy ventures.

“We need joint projects, including in the Arctic and other regions,” he said.

Dmitriev also praised Trump advisor Elon Musk.

“We believe Elon Musk is a great visionary, a great leader and a very successful person,” Dmitriev said, “Russia has a lot to offer for a mission to Mars because we have some nuclear technologies which can be applicable.”

“There are some video conferences we believe will be upcoming with, let’s say, the Musk team.”

The outlet quoted one Russian newspaper headline as reading, “US and Russian officials are now talking the same language.”

Nikolai Patrushev, former head of Russia’s FSB domestic security service, told the outlet, “We used to have a system where two powers dominated in the world. Then it was just one. Now we’re building a multi-polar world. But with its own peculiarities.”

Russia-Greenland history

Two-thirds of Greenland, which is three times the size of Texas, lies within the Arctic –  an area Russia sees as a zone of strategic interest.

Russia has had interest in the Arctic going back to the Cold War. For good reason.

As Marc Jacobsen, an analyst at the Royal Danish Defense College in Copenhagen, told VOA, “There’s no doubt that it’s geostrategically important in defending the U.S. national security against Russian missiles.”

“The shortest route for Russian missiles towards the US is via the North Pole, via Greenland.”

Moscow has heavily focused on building up its military presence in the Arctic these past few years including reopened Soviet-era bases and modernised its navy.

As per VOA, Russia’s northernmost Nagurskoye air base on Siberia’s northern coast is home to nuclear-capable strategic bombers, missile and surveillance systems.

“There is definitely a threat, especially from Russian military capacities in that region. And NATO countries are right now moving to increase their capacity,” Jon Rahbek-Clemmensen, also of the Royal Danish Defense College, told VOA.

Moscow has also held joint military drills with Beijing.

China also has shown an increasing interest in the region, believed to hold up to one-fourth of the Earth’s undiscovered oil and gas.

Russia also has a number of nuclear submarines in the Arctic as well as a number of nuclear-powered ice breakers.

The Arctic also holds fossil fuels and minerals beneath the land and the seabed that could become more accessible with global warming.

Putin has made it a top priority to ramp up commerce via the Northern Sea Route (NSR) through Arctic waters as Russia shifts trade towards Asia and away from Europe because of Western sanctions. Oil shipments from Russian ports to China via the NSR rose by a quarter last year.

Vance’s Greenland visit

Vance and his wife Usha are visiting an American military base in Greenland today.

Their trip that was scaled back after an uproar among Greenlanders and Danes who were irked that the original itinerary was planned without consulting them.

Greenland itself is seeking independence from Denmark.

Polls show the people of Greenland have no interest in joining America.

As per Eurasian Times, 85 percent of Greenlanders say no to such a proposition.

As per Al Jazeera, Mute Egede, the outgoing prime minister of Greenland, earlier this month warned the US, “Don’t keep treating us with disrespect. Enough is enough.”

Egede said, “We don’t want to be Danes. We don’t want to be Americans. We want to be Greenlanders.”

Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen too has slammed Trump.

“They know that Greenland is not for sale. They know that Greenland doesn’t want to be part of the United States,” Frederiksen said as per The Times of India.

Friday’s one-day visit to the US Space Force outpost at Pituffik, on the northwest coast of Greenland, has removed the risk of potentially violating diplomatic custom by sending a delegation to another country without an official invitation. It will also reduce the likelihood that Vance and his wife will cross paths with residents angered by Trump’s annexation announcements.

Ahead of the visit, four of the five parties elected to Greenland’s parliament earlier this month agreed to form a new, broad-based coalition government, banding together in the face of Trump’s designs on the territory.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Tuesday that the visit, which was originally set for three days, created “unacceptable pressure.” On Thursday she was cited by Danish public broadcaster DR as saying: “We really want to work with the Americans on defence and security in the kingdom. But Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders.”

Initially, Usha Vance had announced a solo trip to the Avannaata Qimussersu dogsled race in Sisimiut. Her husband then subsequently said he would join her on that trip, only to change that itinerary again — after protests from Greenland and Denmark — to a one-day visit of the couple to the military post only.

With inputs from agencies