Russia calls Trump’s threats to take over Greenland ‘extraordinary’
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during the annual joint call and press conference in Moscow, Russia, December 19, 2025.
Participant | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Russia on Friday called the Trump administration’s threats to seize Greenland “extraordinary” and added that it would continue to monitor the situation.
“The situation is unusual, I would even say extraordinary from the point of view of international law,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to Russian state news outlet Ria Novosti. he said.
US President Donald Trump talked about buying Greenland, the self-governing territory of Denmark, Since a bold military operation to oust Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on January 3. Maduro said the United States needs Greenland for national security and that only Washington can counter the alleged threat to the island from Russia and China.
Peskov added that Trump “said international law is not a priority for him.” “The situation is developing in a different direction and we, along with the rest of the world, will be watching to see which one.”
A Kremlin spokesman contacted by CNBC was not immediately available for comment.
Peskov’s comments came shortly after the United States, Denmark and Greenland held intense talks over the future of the Arctic island.
A White House meeting that Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen described as “candid but constructive” ended Wednesday without a diplomatic breakthrough, although they agreed to continue talking through a high-level working group.
In a recent interview with the New York Times, Trump said he did no such thing. “International law is needed” and only “his own morality” and reason can stop him.
Meanwhile, several NATO members have sent small numbers of troops to Greenland for a joint military exercise to strengthen the military presence in and around the sparsely populated island.
Denmark, Germany, France, Sweden and Norway, which are responsible for the defense of Greenland, have confirmed plans to participate in joint exercises known as “Operation Arctic Endurance”.
Earlier in the week, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the West of double standards and said that it was unacceptable to say that Beijing and Moscow were a threat to Greenland.
