During his first tenure as the President of the United States, Donald Trump made a rather surprising statement when he expressed an interest in buying Greenland, the world's largest island that sits between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. The idea, reportedly fed to Trump by New York cosmetics heir Ronald S. Lauder, was met with rebuke as Denmark, which has sovereignty over the self-governing island, pushed back to Trump's statement.
However, Trump isn't backing down. As he announced the new ambassador to Denmark, he said: "For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity."
Though the government of Greenland immediately rejected Trump’s idea with Prime Minister Mute B. Egede stating that "Greenland was not for sale and will never be for sale", Trump appears serious, considering Greenland's geographical positioning as the shortest route connecting Asia, Europe, and North America and its commercial significance as the reserve of rare earth minerals at a time when the Arctic ice is melting. The region is said to be a storehouse of gold, silver, copper uranium and even oil.
Trump coveting Greenland also has a Russia connection. Moscow has in years sought to claim territory up to Greenland's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). In 2021, Russia formally laid claim to the Arctic Oceans seabed through two new submissions to the UN Commission on the Limit of the Continental Shelf.
This was months after Russian nuclear icebreaker 50 Let Pobedy broke sea ice between the North Pole and Greenland and Canada, including at points only about 60 nautical miles from Greenland’s EEZ. This helped the Russian research vessel Akademik Fedorov venture over sections of the Lomonosov Ridge, a subsea mountain range that stretches across the North Pole between Russia, Greenland and Canada.
While rights over the EEZ and continental shelf claims do not translate into rights to control shipping outright, Russia could regulate traffic to protect its seabed resources, triggering tensions, like in the case of its attempts to regulate traffic on the Northern Sea Route using similar methods. Besides, Russia is also partnering with China in its Arctic pursuits.
As the region becomes increasingly habitable, Russia is racing to extend its military influence. A report published by Harvard International Review said Russia has invested heavily in rebuilding 475 Cold War-era military strongholds since 2014. These bases are equipped with long-range fighter jets and anti-ship and anti-missile batteries. It has also increased its number of Arctic military drills to warn away any conflicts.
Post-Ukraine war, Russia has also shifted its focus towards boosting the military capacity surrounding Greenland.
The US isn't sitting idle either. It responded by publishing the Arctic Strategy Report in 2024, in which the Department of Defense vowed to increase communications, surveillance, reconnaissance, and training partnerships throughout the region, including Greenland. The US has also increased the capacity of Pituffik Space Base on Greenland’s northwestern coast as a ballistic missile warning station and meteorological radar site.