“We are closely following these dramatic developments. Fortunately, for now everything remains at the level of statements,” RT quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying at a press conference in Moscow, Russia on January 9.
Earlier, on January 7, Mr. Donald Trump repeated his statement that the US wanted to gain control of Greenland - an autonomous territory of Denmark in the Arctic. When asked if he would rule out the possibility of using economic or military force to achieve this, Mr. Trump replied: "I will not commit to that."
“We need Greenland for national security,” Mr. Trump added.
Russian Ambassador to Denmark Vladimir Barbin stressed that Russia wants to maintain stability in the Arctic and warned that "attempts to strengthen US national security at the expense of other countries... will be taken into account by Russia in its military planning."
Mr Barbin also stated that the fate of Greenland should be decided solely by the will of its people within the framework of existing Danish law and without "outside interference".
Former Russian President and current Deputy Chairman of the Russian National Security Council Dmitry Medvedev described Mr Trump's plans as "eccentric and completely unrealizable".
Greenland, a mineral-rich island and autonomous territory of Denmark, is located in the Arctic - an area that has become a focus of competition between Russia, China and the United States in recent years.
Spokesman Peskov stressed the strategic importance of the Arctic for Russia. “The Arctic region is part of our national and strategic interests. We are present in the Arctic and will continue to be. Maintaining peace and stability in this region is of paramount importance. We are ready to cooperate with all countries to achieve this goal,” Peskov said.
In addition, Mr. Peskov also criticized the reaction of European leaders to Mr. Trump's statements.
“Europe reacted very cautiously – they are clearly hesitant to confront Mr Trump’s statements,” the Kremlin spokesman commented.
On the same day, Ms. Kaja Kallas, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, stressed that Greenland's sovereignty must be respected.
“Greenland is part of Denmark (an EU member state),” Ms. Kallas told reporters. “We need to respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Greenland.”
Ms Kallas said she had spoken to Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen after Mr Trump’s comments. “Prime Minister Frederiksen assured me that relations between Denmark and the US remain very good,” Ms Kallas said.
Prime Minister Frederiksen's office later announced a meeting with party leaders in Denmark. "The meeting with party leaders is to share the measures the government has taken in recent days," Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said.
Mr. Rasmussen also noted that although Denmark is not currently in a “foreign policy crisis,” he did not rule out the possibility that this could happen “if words turn into actions.”
On January 8, the Greenland government reaffirmed its right to self-determination and said it “looks forward to establishing contact” with the Trump administration.
Greenland affirmed that it will continue to cooperate with the United States as one of its closest partners. “Greenland has had more than 80 years of defense cooperation with the United States, which has benefited the security of Greenland, the United States and the rest of the Western world,” the Greenland government said.
