MOSCOW, January 13. /TASS/. Greenland’s defense is ensured by warships, the Danish navy and patrol formations, including the well-known dog-sled patrol in the island’s north-east, Nikolay Novik, deputy director of the Institute of World Military Economy and Strategy at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, told TASS.

"It is important to understand that Greenland has no armed forces of its own, and the island indeed does not possess conventional combat capabilities against a regular army. Under the 2009 Self-Government Act, responsibility for the island’s defense officially rests with the Danish army, in particular the Arctic Command, which includes several warships and patrol vessels, units of the Danish navy and the Sirius patrol formations, including the famous Sirius Dog Sled Patrol that operates only along the northeast coast in extreme cold," Novik said. "Donald Trump’s statement is a classic example of his 'pendulum diplomacy' in the spirit of the 'realist school' of international relations, in which geopolitical interests are wrapped in sharp and hyperbolic demands, and security is equated with control over territory," he stated commenting on remarks by US President Donald Trump about the inadequacy of Greenland’s defenses.

At the same time, the expert noted that a crucial element of Greenland’s security is the major US Thule Air Base, now called Pituffik Space Base. The facility operates under a bilateral 1951 agreement between the United States and Denmark. It is a key NATO site in the Arctic and forms part of the US global missile early-warning system.

By downplaying the existing defense capabilities of the Danish autonomous territory, Trump is effectively creating an excuse for a "necessary" US intervention, Novik said. In his view, by invoking Russia and China, the US leader moves the issue from a question of "purchase" into the realm of NATO’s global security. "This is already a direct signal to Copenhagen that the United States is dissatisfied with the current level of control over the Arctic region," the expert emphasized.

Earlier, Trump said Greenland’s defense consisted of "two dog sleds," adding that Russia or China could allegedly "take over" the island if the US does not.