Putin says Greenland ‘doesn’t concern’ Russia ‘in any respect’
Russian President Vladimir Putin professed Wednesday that “what is happening with Greenland does not concern us at all,” however he rapidly pivoted to tacit encouragement of a US acquisition of the Danish territory.
Saying that Russia has “experience in resolving similar issues with the United States,” he offered historic context that appeared to nod to US President Donald Trump’s ambitions.
Speaking at a safety council assembly Wednesday, Putin pointed to Russia’s 1867 sale of Alaska, noting that the US bought the territory for $7.2 million, a sum he estimated would equal $158 million at the moment.
Putin then in contrast Alaska’s measurement to Greenland’s and advised that, by comparable logic, Greenland’s worth might be “somewhere around $200–250 million,” or “closer to a billion” if calculated utilizing historic gold costs.
He then cited one other historic sale: Denmark’s 1917 sale of the Virgin Islands to the US.
Putin concluded by remarking to the gathering: “Incidentally, Denmark has always treated Greenland as a colony and treated it quite harshly, if not cruelly.”
European leaders have expressed fears {that a} US acquisition of Greenland in opposition to the need of Denmark or the Greenlandic individuals would weaken and even break up NATO, handing Putin one in all his main strategic targets.