Putin Accuses Denmark of Treating Greenland "Cruelly"
Trump reaffirmed his interest in the Danish overseas territory during remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, though he dismissed using military force to obtain it.
"Denmark has always treated Greenland like a colony, and treated it quite harshly, if not to say cruelly," Putin said at a meeting with Russia's National Security Council in the Kremlin on Wednesday.
Putin emphasized that Russia holds no interest in the territorial dispute surrounding the island's ownership. "It definitely doesn't concern us. I think they will sort it out among themselves."
He observed that the US acquired Alaska in 1867 from Russia and the Caribbean territory known today as the US Virgin Islands in 1916 from Denmark. Putin speculated that Greenland could cost up to $1 billion and that the US can afford it.
Addressing journalists on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov rejected suggestions that Moscow has any intentions to interfere in Greenland's affairs.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen emphasized in Davos that Copenhagen will not permit the US to annex Greenland, where residents staged anti-Trump demonstrations earlier this week.
Denmark colonized Greenland in the 18th century and granted it home rule in 1979. The US deployed troops to Greenland during World War II and maintains an airbase on the northwestern coast.
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