KRASNOYARSK, January 22. /TASS/. Greenland’s potential annexation by the United States creates both risks and opportunities for the Arctic region, Alexander Vorotnikov, coordinator of the expert council of the Arctic Development Project Office and associate professor at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), told TASS.
Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark. In 1951, Washington and Copenhagen, in addition to their NATO allied obligations, signed a treaty on the island’s defense. Under this treaty, the United States committed to defending Greenland from possible aggression. Trump asserts that the United States needs to take full ownership over Greenland to strengthen national security and effectively deploy the American Golden Dome missile defense system.
"The possible annexation of Greenland by the United States could have serious implications for the Russian Federation’s Arctic zone. This has its pros and cons. Among the pros, it is worth noting <…> the implementation of joint economic projects in various fields - mineral extraction and processing, transportation projects, energy, and waste processing. Scientific cooperation is also promising, given the expertise our country has accumulated in the Arctic and Antarctic," Vorotnikov said. He added that Greenland possesses large reserves of natural resources, the extraction of which is economically unviable, but given climate change and technological advances, this could change.
At the same time, the expert said the Greenland grab had risks too, namely the potential increase of environmental threats in the Arctic region and intensified disagreements between countries.
As Trump announced earlier on the Truth Social platform, the United States will begin levying 10% import tariffs on the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, France, and Sweden, which will remain in place until the parties reach agreements on the "full and final acquisition" of Greenland by Washington. According to the White House, this decision will take effect on February 1, and from June 1 the tariff rate will rise to 25%. In addition, he criticized Europe’s intention to send its forces to Greenland.