MOSCOW, January 15. /TASS/. Former Austrian Foreign Minister, head of the G.O.R.K.I. center at St. Petersburg State University Karin Kneissl says she doesn’t rule out that Greenland may become the United States’ 51st state.

"This is both archaic and not archaic at the same time," she said in an interview with TASS when asked whether the United States’ plans for taking over Greenland could be seen as archaic. "As far as I understand, a bill has been submitted to the US Congress - I haven’t seen it, only had read about this - on incorporating Greenland as the 51st US state. In 2018, Trump said he wanted to buy Greenland. Later, after he took his second office, he said he wanted to annex it. Now, it is probably about signing an agreement, so close that Greenland will de facto become the US 51st state."

"Every few days, we hear Trump saying that this is vitally important for national security. In the past ten to fifteen years, it has become clear for everyone that the new ‘Klondike,’ so to say, the new Golden West lies in the North. So, it’s not ‘go west or ‘go east’ now but rather ‘go north," she noted.

According to Kneissl, the region’s geostrategic location is what matters most for Trump. "He keeps on talking about Chinese and Russian ships there, about natural resources, about the Arctic routes. This territory is so important to him that I don’t think he will just give it up," she said. "I don't know exactly how this will happen."

Trump has repeatedly stated that Greenland should join the United States. During his first office term, he offered to buy the island, and in March 2025 he said he was sure the island could be annexed. Denmark’s right to control the island was earlier called in question by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who also said that Greenland should be part of the United States.

Greenland is an autonomous territory within Denmark. In 1951, Washington and Copenhagen signed the Greenland Defense Treaty in addition to their NATO commitments. Under the agreement, the United States undertook to defend the island against potential aggression.