Matviyenko says Russia concerned over Trump's statements on Greenland

Russia cannot but be concerned about the statements by US President-elect Donald Trump to annex Greenland. This was announced by Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko on January 13 during a meeting with journalists on the occasion of Russian Press Day.

"Behind this kind of statements is the desire of the United States to strengthen and expand its presence in the Arctic. For Russia, the Arctic is of great strategic and geopolitical importance. And we cannot but be concerned about such incomprehensible approaches," the speaker of the upper house of parliament said.

Matviyenko added that now the possibility of violating international law cannot be ruled out.

A song of ice and metal: Is there a benefit for the US in buying Greenland

The island has prospects for resource extraction, but it will be expensive to develop

Earlier, on January 12, former commander-in-chief of NATO forces in Europe, retired U.S. Navy Admiral James Stavridis said that he did not think Donald Trump's idea to annex Greenland was crazy. According to Stavridis, Greenland is a "strategic goldmine" for Washington because of the presence of significant reserves of natural resources there and an important geographical location.

In late December 2024, Trump called ownership and control of Greenland an "absolute necessity" for the United States. He also said on January 7, 2025, that Greenland should become part of the U.S. to provide protection from alleged Chinese and Russian threats.

The Republican expressed interest in buying Greenland from Denmark back in 2019 and was turned down.