The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Tuesday that Russia is quietly rejoicing as the United States and Europe become divided over the Greenland issue.
A split within NATO, the military alliance between the U.S. and Europe, would be a tremendous advantage for Russia. The fundamental reason behind Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was NATO’s eastward expansion.
For the past two decades, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been working tirelessly to weaken NATO.
In this context, Trump’s push for Greenland’s annexation has caused internal strife within NATO, allowing Russia to smile behind the scenes.
Russia is subtly encouraging the U.S. to pursue the annexation of Greenland.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that if Trump were to successfully annex Greenland, he would undoubtedly secure a place in history, not only in American history but also in world history.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov added that NATO is facing a serious crisis, noting that a scenario in which one member state attacks another had previously been unimaginable.
Lavrov also dismissed Trump’s claim that Russia would occupy Greenland if the U.S. did not, stressing that Russia has absolutely no such plans.
He emphasized that just as Crimea is important to Russia, Greenland is crucial to the U.S., effectively supporting America’s ambitions for Greenland.
Russia’s lack of opposition to the potential U.S. occupation of Greenland stems from its existing interests in the region. As the largest Arctic nation, Russia controls 53% of the Arctic coastline and has already secured substantial geopolitical and strategic interests there.
In this context, the WSJ reported that Russia believes U.S. entry into Greenland would not infringe upon its core interests in the Arctic.