JAKARTA - Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday said Russia has no plans to "seize" Greenland and the United States is well aware that neither Moscow nor Beijing have such intentions, dismissing President Donald Trump's claims.
"We have no plans to seize Greenland. That's not our problem. We think Washington is well aware of the absence of such plans in both Russia and China," Foreign Minister Lavrov said at a press conference summarizing Russia's diplomatic activities in 2025, TASS reported (21/1).
He also dismissed speculation about a possible reciprocal assistance agreement with Greenland or Iceland, saying there were no conditions for such an arrangement.
Foreign Minister Lavrov stressed that Russia was only observing developments around Greenland and had no direct involvement, rejecting claims that Moscow posed a threat to the region.
It is known that President Trump has been trying to acquire mineral-rich Greenland, an autonomous territory under Danish control, despite opposition from Europe, claiming that the territory is needed for national security and to prevent rivals such as China and Russia.
Responding to comparisons that have emerged in Western discourse, Foreign Minister Lavrov said Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, is as important to Russian security as Greenland is to the US.
"When they justify what is happening around Greenland by saying that if not, Russia or China will seize it, there is no evidence for that. And in the West, economists and political scientists have refuted them," Foreign Minister Lavrov explained.
"We have nothing to do with this matter. We will monitor the situation," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov also linked the Greenland issue to "colonial era consequences", saying that the territory was historically under Norwegian and then Danish control for centuries before its status changed in the mid-20th century.
He added that Greenland's past as a colony and subsequent association arrangements, including its relationship with European structures, continue to shape current discussions.
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