Russia’s Greenland Twist: Putin Called Trump’s Plans ‘Serious & Historical’ — Backing The U.S. Ambitions In 2025

Monday, January 12, 2026


Russia’s Greenland Twist: Putin Called Trump’s Plans ‘Serious & Historical’ — Backing The U.S. Ambitions In 2025

By EurAsian Times Desk
-January 12, 2026



In yet another provocation, US President Donald Trump told reporters on January 9, 2026, that China or Russia could seize control of the strategically vital Arctic island if the US fails to act.

Interestingly, Putin had earlier supported the idea of the US takeover of Greenland.

“If we don’t take Greenland, Russia or China will take Greenland, and I am not going to let that happen,” Trump declared during a White House meeting with oil and gas executives. “One way or the other, we’re going to have Greenland,” he added, emphasizing that negotiating a deal to transfer control to Washington would be the “easier” path — but insisting the U.S. would proceed “whether they like it or not.”

This latest outburst revives Trump’s 2019 proposal to purchase Greenland from Denmark. Now, in his second term, the rhetoric has grown sharper, with Trump repeatedly threatening to seize the Arctic territory by hook or by crook!

Trump argues that existing U.S. military arrangements — like the Pituffik Space Base under a 1951 defense agreement with Denmark — are insufficient.

“You defend ownership. You don’t defend leases,” he has said, warning that without full U.S. control, adversaries could eventually occupy the territory and become an unwelcome neighbor.

Earlier, Denmark’s PM said her country faces a “decisive moment” in its diplomatic battle with the US over Greenland, after Trump suggested using force to seize the region.

PM Mette Frederiksen said that “there is a conflict over Greenland. “This is a decisive moment” with stakes that go beyond the immediate issue of Greenland’s future, she added in a debate with other Danish political leaders.

Frederiksen posted on Facebook that “we are ready to defend our values — wherever it is necessary — also in the Arctic. We believe in international law and in people’s right to self-determination.”

Germany and Sweden supported Denmark against Trump’s latest threats.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson criticized the US “threatening rhetoric” after Trump repeated that Washington was “going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not.

WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 22: U.S. President Donald Trump holds a photograph of him with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska in the Oval Office August 22, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump announced the FIFA World Cup 2026 draw will take place at The Kennedy Center. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by CHIP SOMODEVILLA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)


“Sweden, the Nordic countries, the Baltic states, and several major European countries stand together with our Danish friends,” he told a defence conference in Salen, where the US general in charge of NATO took part.

Kristersson said a US takeover of Greenland would be “a violation of international law and risks encouraging other countries to act in exactly the same way.”

Germany reiterated its support for Denmark. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadehpul held talks in Iceland to address the “strategic challenges of the Far North,” according to a foreign ministry statement.

“Security in the Arctic is becoming more and more important,” and “is part of our common interest in NATO, he said at a joint news conference with Icelandic Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir.

“If the American president is looking at what threats might come from Russian or Chinese ships or submarines in the region, we can of course find answers to that together,” he added.

But “the future of Greenland must be decided by the people of Greenland” and Denmark, he said.

Asked about a possible strengthening of NATO’s commitment in the Arctic, Wadephul said Germany was “ready to assume greater responsibilities.”

Earlier, German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said: “We are strengthening security in the Arctic together, as NATO allies, and not against one another.”

Earlier, leaders of seven European countries, including France, Britain, Germany, and Italy, signed a letter saying it is “only” for Denmark and Greenland to decide the territory’s future.

NATO Supreme Allied Commander General Alexus Grynkewich told the Swedish conference that alliance members were discussing Greenland’s status. While there was “no immediate threat” to NATO territory, the Arctic’s strategic importance was fast growing, the US general added.

Grynkewich said he would not comment on “the political dimensions of recent rhetoric,” but talks on Greenland were being held at the North Atlantic Council. “Those dialogues continue in Brussels. They have been healthy dialogues from what I’ve heard,” the general said.

“I don’t think there’s an immediate threat to NATO territory right now,” Grynkewich told the conference.

But he said Russian and Chinese warships had been seen patrolling together along Russia’s northern coast and near Alaska and Canada, seeking greater access to the Arctic.

Interestingly, as EurAsian Times reported earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin had somehow supported Trump over Greenland.

Cites by Tass News Agency, Putin said: “Clearly, the role and importance of the Arctic is growing – not just for Russia, but for the entire world. Unfortunately, geopolitical competition and the struggle for influence in the region has also intensified. Everyone is well aware of US plans to absorb Greenland,” Putin told the plenary session of the Arctic – Territory of Dialogue forum. “It would be wrong to assume that this is just some sort of extravagant rhetoric on the part of the new US administration. Nothing of the sort.”

The US explored the idea since the 1760s. “Back then, the US administration considered the possibility of annexing Greenland and Iceland. But the idea failed to win congressional approval,” he said.

Putin also recalled the 1910 deal between the US, Germany, and Denmark on the exchange of territories. It would have given the US sovereignty over Greenland, but “the deal failed.”

“In other words, there were serious US plans with regard to Greenland in the past. As I have just said, these plans are deeply rooted in history,” Putin added.

By Agence France-Presse & ET Online Desk