U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on August 15, 2025 in Anchorage, Alaska.
Contributor | Getty Photographs Information | Getty Photographs
When U.S. President Donald Trump mentioned the U.S. needed to take over Greenland as a matter of nationwide safety, saying Chinese language and Russian ships have been “far and wide” within the Arctic area, the feedback attracted a swift rebuke from Beijing.
Chinese language International Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian on Monday hit again, accusing Washington of “utilizing the so-called ‘China risk’ as a pretext for itself to hunt egocentric positive aspects.”
Russia, quite the opposite, has been notably silent on Trump’s Greenland takeover ambitions and his risk to make use of army drive to grab the Arctic island if obligatory.
The silence emanating from the Kremlin on the Greenland matter may partly be defined by the truth that it has been a vacation interval for Russians, with Orthodox Christians celebrating Christmas on Jan. 7. Russia’s management has but to touch upon the seize of Russian ally Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s chief, final weekend.
Russia’s international ministry issued a press release criticizing the U.S.’ “aggressive actions” in Venezuela, and on the seizure of a newly Russian-flagged oil tanker within the Atlantic on Wednesday. However it too has been silent relating to Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory belonging to Denmark.
Moscow has arguably way more cause than China to be vocal about any potential U.S. “takeover” of a large Arctic entity like Greenland, as Russia has had a laser-like deal with rising (and rival) geostrategic pursuits within the Arctic in recent times.
“We is not going to provide fuel, oil, coal, heating oil — we is not going to provide something,” Putin mentioned.
Sergei Karpukhin | Afp | Getty Photographs
That is with good cause: Russia is the most important Arctic nation by far, spanning 53% of the Arctic Ocean shoreline, and it has longstanding geopolitical, strategic and socio-economic pursuits within the area.
The Arctic is a strategic driver of jobs, funding, and development for the Russian financial system with oil, fuel, and mineral extraction industries primarily based there, in addition to fisheries and infrastructure and transportation logistics, notably associated to the Northern Sea Route — a significant Arctic transport route for Russia between Europe and Asia.
As well as, Russia maintains its sea-based nuclear deterrent within the Arctic and has quite a few army bases and airfields there, in addition to a specialised fleet of icebreakers to facilitate commerce, transportation, and useful resource extraction within the territory.
NATO division issues extra to Moscow
Russia’s Arctic pursuits may properly be impacted by the U.S.’ fixation on Greenland, and specifically, any transfer to take over the island by drive. However analysts informed CNBC that Moscow was extra fascinated with seeing its final purpose — the destruction of NATO — realised.
“The Russian stake in Greenland is tiny,” Jamie Shea, former deputy assistant secretary basic for rising safety challenges at NATO, informed CNBC Wednesday.
“The U.S. would have a bigger presence within the North Atlantic [if it increased its presence in Greenland] however NATO is already limiting what Russia can do within the Excessive North with Canada, Denmark, Norway, and the U.Okay. all growing their army presence and functionality within the area, and Sweden and Finland becoming a member of NATO. So not a lot would change for Russia strategically,” Shea, a global protection and safety professional at assume tank Chatham Home, added.
Danish, Greenlandic and U.S. flags fly on the Danish armed forces’ Arctic Command in Nuuk, Greenland March 27, 2025.
Leonhard Foeger | Reuters
Putin can be “delighted to see additional divisions and incoherence in NATO and a large transatlantic disaster that would lead the U.S. to cease its assist for Ukraine and withdraw U.S. troops from Europe,” the analyst famous.
If the U.S. have been “tied up within the Western Hemisphere,” that may in the end give Russia extra space to extend its affect in Africa, the Center East, Central Asia, and Europe. So, on steadiness, [it would be] a large win for Putin for which he pays no value,” he added.
A ‘present to Putin’
Trump’s renewed Greenland bid, and the risk to make use of army drive, if obligatory, have despatched shockwaves via NATO and its European member states this week.
Each Greenland and Denmark have repeatedly informed Trump that the island is just not up for grabs, or up on the market, and that any army motion to grab it could spell the tip of the NATO alliance.
European leaders have additionally pushed again in opposition to Trump, stating that “it’s for Denmark and Greenland, and them solely, to determine on issues regarding Denmark and Greenland.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is because of meet with Danish officers subsequent week.
The apparent alarm amongst European leaders, and the rising chance of NATO’s dissolution, are “an absolute present to Putin,” Edward R. Arnold, senior analysis fellow at RUSI, informed CNBC.
“Putin’s all the time recognized, and Soviet leaders earlier than him knew, that Russia cannot defeat NATO militarily. It is too highly effective, so it must defeat NATO politically, which is mainly to make Article 5 out to be hole [and to] attempt to transfer the U.S. away from European pursuits to the purpose that they’ll expose that,” he added.
If Greenland’s annexation did turn into a extra real looking prospect, “NATO is successfully going to eat itself politically,” Arnold added.
