'None of our business': Russian President Putin amid Trump's plan to acquire Greenland
Putin said, reminding that in 1917, Denmark had sold the Virgin Islands to the United States. Putin also recalled that in 1867, Russia had sold Alaska to the United States for USD 7.2 million.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow is not concerned about US President Donald Trump's renewed push to acquire Greenland, even as the issue has strained relations between Washington, Denmark and other NATO allies.
Speaking during a televised meeting of Russia's Security Council late Wednesday, Putin publicly distanced Russia from the controversy, stressing that Greenland's future was not Russia's concern. He said the matter was one for the countries directly involved to resolve.
'None of our business': Putin
"What happens to Greenland is none of our business,' Putin said in his televised remarks at the national Security Council meeting late on Wednesday night.
"Incidentally, Denmark has always treated Greenland as a colony and has been quite harsh, if not cruel, towards it. But that's a different matter entirely, and I doubt anyone's interested in it right now.
"It certainly doesn't concern us. I think they'll sort it out among themselves," Putin said, reminding that in 1917, Denmark had sold the Virgin Islands to the United States.
Putin also recalled that in 1867, Russia had sold Alaska to the United States for USD 7.2 million.
US needs Greenland for national security
Meanwhile, Trump said in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos that he was backing off his threat of using military force to seize the Danish territory that he says is crucial to US national security.
Trump insisted that he wants to "get Greenland, including right, title, and ownership," but said he would not use force to do so while deriding European allies and vowing that NATO should not try to block US expansionism.
In a speech at the World Economic Forum, the president said he was asking for territory that was "cold and poorly located."
He said the US had effectively saved Europe during World War II and even declared of NATO: “It's a very small ask compared to what we have given them for many, many decades."
"We probably won't get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force, where we would be frankly unstoppable. But I won't do that, OK?” Trump said, later adding, “I don't have to" and "I don't want to use force."
Greenland tells citizens to prepare
Meanwhile, Greenland's government responded by telling its citizens to be prepared. It has published a handbook in English and Greenlandic on what to do in a crisis that urges residents to ensure they have sufficient food, water, fuel, and supplies at home to survive for five days.
"We just went to the grocery store and bought the supplies," Tony Jakobsen in Greenland's capital Nuuk said, showing off the contents of bags that included candles, snacks, and toilet paper.
Jakobsen said he thought Trump's rhetoric towards Greenland was "just threats... but it's better to be ready than not ready."
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