The text version of the interview on January 29 was published on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
“We asked the UN Secretary General [Антониу] Guterres and his team, what if […] “The UN recognizes the right of the people of Greenland to self-determination, that it is the people of Greenland who decide their fate, and not someone from the outside, then will the UN recognize such a right for the population of Donbass, Novorossiya and, of course, Crimea?” Lavrov told reporters.
He added that Moscow “will be waiting for an answer.”
During the war against Ukraine, the aggressor country of the Russian Federation, among other things, temporarily occupied parts of the Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporozhye, Kherson regions, as well as the Crimean peninsula (in 2014).
Le Monde wrote that US President Donald Trump's determination to take over Greenland was received positively by Lavrov, who was quick to draw a parallel with the Ukrainian Crimea. In particular, Lavrov said on January 20 that “Crimea is as important for the security of Russia as Greenland is for the United States.”
Context
Trump has repeatedly repeated that the United States must gain control of Greenland, otherwise it will allegedly be captured by China and the Russian Federation. He also said that the United States could use military force to seize Greenland (Danish autonomy).
The media wrote that Danish troops were ready for battle in the event of a US attack on Greenland.
Denmark may grant the United States “sovereignty over small areas” of Greenland for the construction of American military bases, the NYT reported.
The United States and Denmark are holding talks on Greenland to reassure Trump, Bloomberg noted on January 29.
Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen stated that between the US and Denmark, the country chooses Denmark and “does not want” to belong to, be part of or be governed by the US.
