The Kremlin said Thursday that it’s keeping a close eye on President-elect Donald Trump’s ongoing pursuit of Greenland.
Earlier this week, Trump said he would not rule out using military force to seize the strategically-important Arctic island that’s an autonomous territory of Denmark, saying it was in the U.S.’ economic and national interest.
Trump’s comments have found some support among pro-Kremlin figures in Russia with a number close to President Vladimir Putin saying any U.S. move to claim Greenland would legitimize Russia’s own expansionist aims and ambitions to restore former Soviet territories, such as the Baltics, to its own sphere of influence and power.
European leaders have warned President-elect Trump against seizing Greenland, saying such a move would violate international borders, while Denmark and Greenland have stated that the island, where the U.S. has a military base, is “not for sale.”
Making the Kremlin’s first public comments on the matter Thursday, Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said Russia was watching the situation closely.
“Such claims are probably more a question of bilateral relations between the United States and Denmark,” Peskov told reporters Thursday, according to comments reported by Russian state news agency Tass and translated by Google.
“We are watching this rather dramatic development of the situation very closely, but so far, thank God, [the situation remains] at the level of statements,” Peskov said.
