(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) The Kremlin said on Thursday that Russia has strategic national interests in the Arctic after President-elect Donald Trump announced his plans to buy Greenland.
According to Reuters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was closely watching the “dramatic development.”
“The Arctic is a zone of our national interests, our strategic interests,” Peskov said. “We are interested in preserving the atmosphere of peace and stability in the Arctic zone. We are watching the rather dramatic development of the situation very closely, but so far, thank G-d, at the level of statements.”
Peskov also said that U.S. attempts to gain Greenland “were a matter for the United States and Denmark,” adding that Europe was not enthusiastic about Trump’s statement.
“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,” he said.
Reuters also asked Peskov about Trump’s desire to acquire the Panama Canal, which the United States built and owned before handing it to Panama in 1999. He said that the U.S. and Panama should resolve the issue between themselves.
“The only hands that control the canal are Panamanian, and that’s how it will continue to be,” Panamanian Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha said on Tuesday.
The recent news came after Trump stated that he wanted to purchase Greenland because it would benefit the security and freedom of the U.S. and the world.
“For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity. Ken will do a wonderful job in representing the interests of the United States,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Greenland Prime Minister Múte Egede responded to Trump’s comments by stating that Greenland doesn’t plan to become a part of the U.S. but instead become independent.
“The Greenlandic people’s opportunity for independence has been adopted through the provisions of the Self-Government Act, thereby creating a legal basis for how independence can be achieved,” he said. “A draft constitution for our country has also been prepared… Work has already begun with regard to creating the framework for Greenland as an independent state within the possibilities and provisions of the Self-Government Act.”
After that, Donald Trump Jr. and Turning Point Action founder Charlie Kirk flew to Greenland, reportedly not to meet with local government officials, as Newsweek reported.
Even though Trump’s son and Kirk allegedly never intended to negotiate a deal, soon after that happened, Egede said on Friday that he was ready to speak with the future leader of the U.S. about the situation.
