EPA-EFE/REX/ShutterstockKremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was closely monitoring the situation after US President-elect Donald Trump refused to rule out military action to seize Greenland from Denmark.
Peskov said the Arctic is in “the sphere of Russia's national and strategic interests, and it is interested in peace and stability there.”
Trump's remarks about Greenland – a largely autonomous Danish territory – prompted a warning from European leaders.
The EU's high representative for foreign affairs, Kaia Callas, stressed that “we must respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Greenland”, and German Minister Olaf Scholz made it clear that “borders must not be moved by force”.
Trump said earlier this week that the US needed both Denmark and the Panama Canal “for economic security” and refused to rule out the use of economic or military force to seize them.
He also called the Canadian border an “artificially drawn line.” Denmark and Canada are close US allies in NATO.
Dmitry Peskov said Trump's claims were a matter for the US, Denmark and other nations, but Russia was watching the “quite dramatic” situation surrounding his remarks. “We are present in the Arctic zone and we will continue to be present there,” he said.
Outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken tried to assuage concern over the president-elect's remarks during a visit to Paris: “The idea … is clearly not a good one, but perhaps more importantly, it is clearly one that does not to happen. “
About 56,000 people live in Greenland and it is home to US and Danish military bases. It also has significant untapped mineral and petroleum wealth.
Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede is pushing for independence, even though the territory's economy relies heavily on Danish subsidies.
Both he and the Danish leader emphasized that it was “not for sale” and that its future was in the hands of the Greenlanders themselves.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy downplayed Trump's comments, although he acknowledged “the intensity of his rhetoric and the unpredictability at times of what he says can be destabilizing”.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Copenhagen had a clear interest in ensuring the US – “absolutely their closest ally” – played a key role at a time of rising tensions in the North Atlantic, particularly involving Russia.
The European Commission said Trump's threat to Greenland was “extremely theoretical” and “wildly hypothetical” given that he is not yet in office.
However, he confirmed that Greenland, as an overseas territory, falls under a mutual assistance clause that requires all EU countries to come to its aid in the event of an attack.
The Kremlin scoffed at the European response, suggesting it was reacting “very timidly … almost in a whisper.”
Last week, Greenland's leader said the territory needed to free itself from the “shackles of colonialism”, although he did not mention the US.
Former Greenlandic foreign minister Pelle Broberg, who now heads the biggest opposition party, told the BBC that most Greenlanders he spoke to believed the US was vital to their defense and security.
“We're part of the North American continent, that's why the US defense is in such a good place with respect to Greenland because we're creating a buffer zone that doesn't need to be militarized.”
He called for a “free association agreement” with the US covering trade and defence, which would give Greenland independence but hand the US responsibility for security.
Trump's allies reinforced his views on Greenland.
Keith Kellogg, Trump's pick to end the war in Ukraine, said many of the president-elect's remarks about Greenland made sense, “putting the United States in a position of global leadership.”
Republican Congressman Mike Waltz told Fox News that the issue “is not just about Greenland, it's about the Arctic” because Russia is trying to take control of the polar region with its mineral and natural resources.
“Denmark can be a great ally, but you can't treat Greenland, which they have operational control over, as some kind of backwater – it's in the Western Hemisphere.