Russia considers US plans to annex Greenland "serious" and worries the West could use the Arctic as a springboard for future conflicts, Russian President Vladimir Putin says.
US President Donald Trump has pushed to take control of the autonomous Danish island since taking office in January, saying Washington needs to have it for "international security".
Speaking at an Arctic forum in the northern Russian city of Murmansk, the Russian president said it was a "deep mistake to think that this is some extravagant talk from the new American administration".
"We are talking about serious plans on the American side with regard to Greenland. These plans have long-standing historical roots," he said.
He went on to say Russia was concerned that "NATO countries in general are increasingly designating the Far North as a springboard for possible conflicts".
"It is obvious that the role and importance of the Arctic both for Russia and for the whole world is growing. But unfortunately, geopolitical competition, the struggle for positions in this region, is also intensifying," he said.
Mr Putin, who is keen to ramp up commerce via the Northern Sea Route (NSR) through Arctic waters as Russia shifts trade towards Asia and away from Europe because of Western sanctions, said Russia had never threatened anyone in the Arctic, but was prepared to defend its interests.
JD Vance to visit Greenland
Greenland, which is seeking independence from Denmark, is already home to a US military base that US Vice-President JD Vance is set to visit on Friday.
The island is strategically located between North America and Europe at a time of rising US, Chinese and Russian interest in the Arctic, where sea lanes have opened up because of climate change.
Denmark has rebuffed Mr Trump's calls to take over the island and says the people of Greenland have shown they do not want to be part of the United States.
Mr Vance scaled back his visit after he was accused of exerting "unacceptable pressure" on Greenland by Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
Mr Putin also used the major speech to call for an expansion of Russia's northern ports and the building of a merchant fleet in the Arctic, supported by new-generation icebreakers including nuclear-powered ones.
The Arctic holds fossil fuels and minerals beneath the land and the seabed that could become more accessible with global warming.
It is also an area of military competition, where defence analysts say Russia has built up its presence much faster than the West by reopening Soviet-era bases and modernising its navy.
AFP/Reuters
