This week, as the controversy brewed over President Donald Trump’s proposal to purchase Greenland, the response from Russian officials and media was a blend of amusement, satisfaction, and cautious observation. This potential deal has stirred a mix of reactions across the globe, particularly between the United States and Europe.

While some in Russia hailed Trump’s initiative as a momentous step, others perceived it as a strategic weakening of the European Union and NATO. Such developments might be viewed favorably by Moscow, as they potentially divert Western focus away from ongoing tensions, like Russia’s conflict in Ukraine.

However, cautious voices emerged, pointing out that if the U.S. were to acquire Greenland, it could pose both security and economic challenges for Russia. The Arctic region, where Russia has been keen to extend its influence and strengthen its military foothold, is of strategic significance due to its rich resources and military installations, including the Northern Fleet and historical Soviet nuclear test sites.

During an address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump emphasized his desire to “get Greenland,” assuring that any acquisition would not involve force. He also critiqued European allies and expressed that NATO should not impede U.S. territorial ambitions.

This development has been described by some as ‘world history’ in the making.

The Kremlin has neither criticized nor supported Trump on the issue, but pointed out the far-reaching impact if the U.S. took Greenland from Denmark. Such measured praise appears in line with Moscow’s public rhetoric toward the current U.S. administration, as Russia tries to win concessions in the Trump-led effort to end its nearly four-year war in Ukraine and revive relations with Washington that had plunged to Cold War lows.

“Regardless of whether it’s good or bad and whether it complies with international law or not, there are international experts who believe that if Trump takes control of Greenland he will go down in history, and not only the U.S. history but world history,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday.

“Without discussing whether it’s good or bad, it’s hard not to agree with these experts,” he added.

The government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta on Sunday compared it to “such ‘planetary’ events as Abraham Lincoln’s abolition of slavery … or the territorial conquests of the Napoleonic Wars.”

“If Trump secures the annexation of Greenland by July 4, 2026, when America celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, he will undoubtedly join the ranks of historical figures who affirmed the greatness of the United States,” the newspaper wrote.

A statement that appeared favorable to Trump came from Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who said at a news conference Tuesday that Denmark’s control over Greenland was a vestige of the colonial past

“In principle, Greenland isn’t a natural part of Denmark,” he said.

Lavrov also drew parallels between Trump’s bid for Greenland and President Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. The 2014 illegal seizure of the peninsula is not recognized by most of the world.

“Crimea isn’t less important for the security of the Russian Federation than Greenland is for the United States,” he said.

A blow for longtime allies

Others focused on the potential rift between the U.S. and its European allies in NATO, a bloc that has held firm since the dawn of the Cold War and that Russia has long viewed as an adversary.

“Transatlantic unity is over. Leftist, globalist EU/UK elites failed,” wrote Kirill Dmitriev, a presidential envoy involved in talks with the U.S. on ending the war in Ukraine, in a post Saturday on X.

Lavrov echoed his sentiment, saying Trump’s bid for Greenland heralds a “deep crisis” for NATO and raises questions about the alliance’s preservation as a single military-political bloc.

In a series of columns this week, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti touted Trump’s push for Greenland as “opening the door to world history before our very eyes” and mocked European countries for sending small military contingents to Greenland in a show of support for Denmark.

“Europeans can only watch this in impotent rage — they have neither economic nor military leverage against Washington,” one column said.

Another column said it was “amusing and didactical” that the World Economic Forum once “was at the pinnacle of power and might, a place everyone aspired to, and today they’re burying ‘Atlantic solidarity’ here.”

Pushing aside the war in Ukraine

Russian state and pro-Kremlin media also argued Greenland was diverting attention from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s effort to negotiate a favorable peace settlement to end Russia’s invasion of his country, painting it as a positive for Moscow.

“The world seemed to have forgotten about Ukraine and Zelenskyy. And in this silence, U.S. negotiators (Steve) Witkoff and (Jared) Kushner were preparing to travel to Moscow,” the pro-Kremlin tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets said Sunday.

RIA Novosti echoed that Wednesday in a column titled “Greenland knocked out Zelenskyy,” that “this uproar stirred up by Donald Trump has knocked Zelenskyy out cold,” and that “Ukraine’s importance will never return to its previous levels.”

But Trump said in Davos that he would meet with Zelenskyy on Thursday. “I want to stop it,” Trump said of the fighting. “It’s a horrible war.”

Seeking Arctic supremacy

Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former president who is deputy chairman of the Security Council, drew parallels between Trump’s bid for Greenland and Putin’s seizure of territory in Ukraine – but said the American’s actions were “completely different.”

Greenland “was never directly connected to the States, even though they tried to acquire it several times,” Medvedev said, questioning what price Trump “is willing to pay to achieve this goal” and whether he is up to the task of “eliminating NATO”.

Popular pro-Kremlin military blogger and correspondent Aleksander Kots said in a recent Telegram post that by taking Greenland, Trump “wants to seize the Russian Arctic” and get to the natural resources that Moscow covets there.

The Moskovsky Komsomolets tabloid on Sunday called Trump’s bid for Greenland a “turning point,” arguing that the Arctic “turns from a zone of cooperation into a zone of confrontation.”

“The Northern Fleet will be under threat. The economic projects will face hurdles. The nuclear deterrence will lose effectiveness. Russia will end up in strategic isolation,” the article said. “Greenland is not just Trump’s coveted 2 million square kilometer island. It is an icy noose around Russia’s throat. And Trump has already begun to tighten it.”

These concerns stand somewhat in contrast with the Kremlin publicly touting the prospects of cooperating with Washington in the Arctic.