The News
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin warned of “intensifying” geopolitical competition in the Arctic amid US threats to take Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory.
In an address to Russia’s Arctic Forum in Murmansk, Putin said Thursday that US President Donald Trump’s plans to acquire Greenland “have deep historical roots” and were “nothing to do with us.”
“Nato countries in general are increasingly designating the far north as a springboard for potential conflicts,” Putin said, adding that Russia was open to cooperation with Western countries in the region.
Putin’s remarks came as US Vice President JD Vance landed in Greenland in a visit that was scaled back over criticism from Greenlandic and Danish officials. Vance told reporters Friday that Denmark had failed to adequately devote resources to “keep our troops, and... the people of Greenland safe from very aggressive incursions from Russia, from China and from other nations,” adding that he hoped Greenland would choose to “partner” with the US.
SIGNALS
Arctic ranks higher on the military and economic agenda
Climate change and Donald Trump’s expansionist agenda “are putting this once-off limits region higher on the military agenda,” the Financial Times reported. Some academics predict that the Arctic’s first ice-free day could come before 2030: “A warming Arctic should yield enormous economic dividends,” The Economist wrote, as melting ice opens shipping lanes and eases resource extraction – though challenging weather conditions will hamper progress in the short-term. “After decades of Arctic exceptionalism, the region is now home to competition among the world’s great powers,” one analyst said. Washington’s designs on Greenland are “part of a broader play for dominance in the Arctic, where Russia and China are also flexing their muscle,” The New York Times wrote.
Trump threats push Denmark and Canada to bolster Arctic defense capabilities
Donald Trump’s renewed interest in Greenland — alongside Russia and China’s growing presence in the Arctic — have forced Denmark to bolster the island’s depleted security, The Washington Post reported. Similarly, “Trump’s repeated questioning of Canadian sovereignty” has reinforced existing concerns in Canada over Arctic defense, The Guardian wrote. Canadian Prime minister Mark Carney recently announced a $4.2 billion deal with Australia to develop Arctic radar systems. The US Department of Defense said last year that NATO cooperation is essential to maintaining stability in the region, but Trump’s expansionist rhetoric puts this at risk, Foreign Policy argued: “The United States, once an ally seeking to protect, is now a potentially conquering force.”
Arctic emerges as another front in warming US-Russia relations
The Arctic is central to Moscow’s efforts to “woo Washington with promises of lucrative deals” amid ongoing negotiations over a Ukraine peace deal, the BBC’s Russia correspondent wrote. The Kremlin has proposed joint Russia-US energy ventures in the region, while “the biggest early beneficiary” of thawing relations could be “Russia’s beleaguered LNG sector,” where its Arctic LNG 2 project has effectively been hamstrung by Western export bans, according to the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. Meanwhile, a detente between Washington and Moscow could dampen China’s Arctic ambitions, an academic told the South China Morning Post: Beijing is dependent on “Russia’s goodwill” to access the region.