Vladimir Putin in Moscow, January 20, 2026. VYACHESLAV PROKOFYEV/AP
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov praised Donald Trump's determination to seize Greenland, quickly drawing a parallel with Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014. "Crimea is just as important for Russia's security as Greenland is for the United States," he said during his annual press conference on Tuesday, January 20. Echoing the American president, he described Denmark's control over its autonomous territory as a "remnant" of the colonial past. "Greenland is not naturally part of Denmark," he added.
Amused by the scenario in which "a NATO member would attack another NATO member," Lavrov highlighted how difficult it had been "to imagine previously that such a thing could happen." Regarding Moscow's and Beijing's alleged territorial ambitions over Greenland, which the American president cited as justification for his desire to annex the Arctic island, Lavrov said they simply do not exist. "In Washington, they know perfectly well that Russia and China have no such plans," said the minister.
Indeed, the instability in transatlantic relations is a boon for Vladimir Putin, who has long dreamed of NATO's collapse. Trump's harsh rhetoric played to Putin's advantage, deepening the existing split among allies over the perception of the Russian threat. While most European leaders remain convinced of the possibility of a war with Russia, the American administration refuses to consider any prospect of Russian expansionism toward the continent.
