MOSCOW, January 15. /TASS/. The United States aims to use Greenland to substantially enhance its military influence and apply pressure on Russia and China, as well as on some European nations, according to experts interviewed by TASS.
Yury Knutov, a military expert and director of the Museum of the Air Defense Forces, noted that Greenland is home to the US’s Pituffik Space Base, which currently functions as a missile warning system and monitors the Arctic region. Additionally, there are remnants of another base on the island where numerous intermediate-range missiles were once planned for deployment in the 1960s, but the project was abandoned.
"Now that an arms race is underway in terms of shorter- and intermediate-range missiles, stationing such weapons in Greenland would not only secure the Murmansk area and the Northern Sea Route but also exert control over several European countries. <...> The US needs such bases to apply military pressure," Knutov explained. According to him, without Greenland, the Arctic is virtually inaccessible to the US, as it lacks icebreakers, while Russia has 34 diesel-electric and seven nuclear-powered icebreakers.
Another military expert, Captain First Rank (ret.) Vasily Dandykin, argued that naval bases on the island represent a serious threat to Russia, enabling the tracking of Russian submarines. Discussing Trump’s claims on Canada, the expert emphasized that Greenland was a higher priority and that any statements about the island joining the US were more than political rhetoric. "It’s not a bluff; they [the Americans] can do that. If not purchase, then simply take it. They have the experience," Dandykin stated.
Politico experts have concluded that Denmark is unable to challenge the United States due to its lack of sufficient weapons and military equipment, especially since US troops have been stationed in Greenland since the 1940s.
Economic interests
Russian experts have highlighted the "enormous interest" the US has in Greenland’s mineral resources. They pointed out that the melting ice and new technologies now make resource extraction much easier. "Regarding resources, it’s humanity’s last untouched pantry," Dandykin remarked.
Knutov added that the Arctic shelf is rich in oil, gas, and rare earth elements, "and today, mining is less expensive than it was in the previous century."
Ksenia Bondarenko, an associate professor in the Department of World Economy at the Higher School of Economics, noted that the Arctic is becoming an important area of competition for military presence. "Denmark’s contribution to NATO’s Arctic presence is minimal. Owning Greenland would allow the US to significantly expand its military influence in the region and hinder the development of Russia’s Northern Sea Route and China’s activities," she explained. Bondarenko added that the media had been discussing Trump’s interest in purchasing Greenland since 2019. "Back then, Trump proposed an annual payment of $600 million for the right to own the island. It’s about the economy, business, politics, and military competition in the Arctic," the expert concluded.