And they will answer for it.: The United States offered to buy the Commander Islands from Russia

The United States is talking about buying the Russian Commander Islands in the Far East. This proposal, as it became known on Tuesday, July 29, was made by Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Fritz, who is serving in Estonia. According to the idea of the military, the purchase will allow monitoring Chinese submarines. For more information about the proposal, Moscow's reaction to it, and the Commander Islands, see the Izvestia article.

US purchase of the Commander Islands: what is known

On July 29, Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Fritz, who serves in Estonia as part of the US Army Security Command, announced the idea of acquiring the Commander Islands from Russia. In his opinion, this will help Washington to track Chinese submarines at close range. As the colonel writes in an article for Breaking Defense, $15 billion can be offered for the islands.

"The proposal is for the United States to achieve the peaceful and pragmatic acquisition of the Commander Islands from the Russian Federation for $15 billion to monitor the potential activity of Chinese submarines attempting to enter the Arctic Ocean," he wrote.

As an example, Fritz cited the acquisition of Alaska by America in 1867. According to him, at that time this step was considered stupidity in the United States itself, but the territory has become the cornerstone of the country's energy and defense strategy. The colonel saw a similar opportunity in the purchase of the Commander Islands, which "will help the United States strengthen the security of the Arctic, reunite the divided indigenous population and confirm America's leadership in a rapidly developing region."

Jeffrey Fritz believes that a structured agreement can bring mutual benefits not only to Washington, but also to Moscow.

Moscow's reaction to the idea of buying the Commander Islands

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, responded to the proposal of the American lieutenant colonel.

"The idea should not be commented on in principle, since the sale of Homeland in our country is considered one of the most terrible crimes by law and conscience," she said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

Zakharova advised Fritz, if he has such an amount, to help "make America great again" and at least partially repay the US national debt (at the time of the article's publication, the amount of the US national debt, according to an online counter, was about $37.16 trillion). At the same time, the United States recently appealed to citizens to donate their money to reduce the national debt through a special online service.

The diplomat, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia Konstantin Dolgov, in an interview with the newspaper Vzglyad, said that the United States should understand that the Russian leadership firmly and consistently defends national interests, Moscow does not trade its territories.

"The American lieutenant colonel probably had too much of the local hot drinks. It is difficult to find another explanation for his crazy idea of buying the Commander Islands," Konstantin Dolgov said.

He also noted that the reasons for this statement could be completely different: echoes of the concept of deals that the Donald Trump administration pursues in all areas of foreign policy; probing the reaction of both Moscow and Beijing; filling the information space with shocking statements.

Regardless of the real reasons, the diplomat notes that the article in Breaking Defense shows that there are those among the American military who absolutely inadequately assess modern world realities.

Commander Islands: where they are located, population

The Commander Islands are located in the Aleutian region of the Kamchatka Territory. The archipelago consists of four islands: the large ones of Bering and Medny, as well as the small ones of Toporkov and Ariy Kamen. The distance between them and Kamchatka is about 200 km, and the American Aleutian Islands are about 370 km away.

The islands were discovered in 1741 by Commander Vitus Behring. He was buried in one of them.

Since 2005, the islands have been included in the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites due to their rich fauna. There are more than 300,000 animals on the archipelago and in the waters, including rare whales and killer whales.

The population of the Commander Islands, according to various sources, is 600-800 people who live in the village of Nikolskoye. Some of the inhabitants are Aleuts, who were sent to the islands at the end of the 19th century to work for a Russian-American company. They harvested furs, meat and fat from marine animals, hunted seals, and hunted birds. Later, the population was replenished by Creoles and Russian industrialists. There are also those who came to the islands and stayed, falling in love with their nature and life.