In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin attends a video-linked ceremony to launch the Project 885M Yasen-M nuclear-powered submarine Perm, in the Arctic Circle port city of Murmansk on March 27, 2025.
Sergei Karpukhin | Afp | Getty Images
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned it would be foolish to dismiss U.S. President Donald Trump’s push for control of Greenland, saying the move is unsurprising given America’s longtime interest in the mineral-rich territory.
Delivering a major speech in Russia’s Murmansk, the world’s largest city north of the Arctic Circle, Putin said on Thursday that Trump’s stated intent to annex Greenland “is an issue that concerns two specific nations and has nothing to do with us.”
“It is a profound mistake to treat it as some preposterous talk by the new U.S. administration. Nothing of the sort,” Putin said.
He added that the U.S. had such plans “as far back as the 1860s” and flagged that the country had offered to buy Greenland from Denmark after World War II.
“In short, the United States has serious plans regarding Greenland. These plans have long historical roots, as I have just mentioned, and it is obvious that the United States will continue to consistently advance its geo-strategic, military-political and economic interests in the Arctic,” Putin said.
His comments, which were not critical of Trump’s intentions, come as U.S. Vice President JD Vance prepares to lead a high-profile U.S. delegation to Greenland on Friday.
Vance said in a video posted on social media platform X earlier this week that he would join his wife, Usha Vance, to “check out what’s going on with the security” of Greenland.
Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to gain control of the autonomous Danish territory, describing the prospect as an “absolute necessity” for purposes related to national security.
The respective governments of both Greenland and Denmark have voiced firm opposition to Trump’s plans, with Mute Egede, the outgoing prime minister of Greenland, earlier this month saying: “Don’t keep treating us with disrespect. Enough is enough.”