Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has commented on U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's Greenland proposal, drawing parallels between the plan and Russia's annexation of several Ukrainian regions.
Newsweek has contacted the Kremlin and the Trump transition team for comment by email.
Why It Matters
Russia has long sought to justify to the international community its September 2022 annexations of Ukraine's Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
What To Know
Trump has said he wants the U.S. to acquire Greenland, a semiautonomous island that is part of Denmark and home to a U.S. Space Force base.
On Thursday, Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin's press secretary, responded to Trump's desire for the U.S. to acquire the island, which is strategically located in the Arctic Circle and has a population of about 56,000. It is also rich in natural resources.
The Kremlin spokesperson told reporters that Russia was "watching this rather dramatic development of the situation very closely" and suggested that the U.S. president-elect should take into account the opinions of those in Greenland, as Russia did for the residents of the "four new regions of the Russian Federation."
Peskov was referring to the illegal annexations of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
Moscow held referendums on the annexations in the occupied territories, which Ukraine and Western nations deemed illegal—with the U.S. calling them a sham.
During the voting, reports emerged of armed groups entering homes and threatening individuals into participating in the referendums. At the time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the referendums were "not just crimes against international law and Ukrainian law, these are crimes against specific people, against a nation."
Russia also illegally annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. Crimea is internationally recognized as part of Ukraine.
Trump said at a press conference on Tuesday that the U.S. needed Greenland for "national security purposes."
What People Are Saying
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday: "There are different words coming from Washington about the opinion of the population. Europe is reacting to this very timidly—it is clear that it is scary to react to Trump's words, so Europe is reacting very cautiously, modestly, quietly, almost in a whisper. After all, if words are being said about the need to take into account the opinion of the people, then perhaps we need to remember the opinion of the people of the four new regions of the Russian Federation and we need to show the same respect for the opinion of these people."
Greenland's Prime Minister Mute Egede told Reuters in December: "Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom."
What Happens Next
Trump, who is set to return to the White House on January 20, will likely face major obstacles in his quest to acquire Greenland.
Greenland is part of Denmark, a NATO member, which could therefore trigger Article 4 of NATO's founding treaty. The article can be invoked when any member of the military alliance deems the "territorial integrity, political independence or security" of any member state to be threatened.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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