Russian minister's Greenland remarks echo Crimean rhetoric
The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, spoke about Greenland, an autonomous territory that is part of Denmark. "We need to listen first to the voices of the people of Greenland," he said. He then used this as a pretext for propagandist remarks about Crimea and Donbas.
Many pieces of information provided by Russian media or government representatives are elements of propaganda. Such reports are part of the information warfare conducted by the Russian Federation.
Sergey Lavrov, head of Russian diplomacy, addressed the claims of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump regarding Greenland. He emphasized that the most important voice is that of the inhabitants of this territory.
He then compared the situation in Greenland to Crimea and Donbas in a propagandist tone. "I think we first need to listen to the Greenlanders, just as we (...) listened to the residents of Crimea, Donbas, and Novorossiya," he stated.
Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in March 2014 after a military intervention and an illegal referendum. The West and Ukraine deemed these actions a violation of international law. It was the first target of Russian aggression against Ukraine.
In 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the unilateral annexation of four regions in Ukraine: Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. These actions were also contrary to international law.
Discussion about Greenland
Last week, Donald Trump stated that the United States needs Greenland for national security reasons. He expressed doubts about Denmark's rights to this territory.
According to "Newsweek," Danish counterintelligence determined that the idea of acquiring Greenland was suggested to Trump by Russian intelligence through a forged letter to one of the American senators.
Greenland, part of the Kingdom of Denmark, gained expanded autonomy in 2009 and has about 57,000 inhabitants.
