Russian President Vladimir Putin today put a price on Greenland, an Arctic island that the United States wants to buy despite Danish opposition: between 200 and a billion dollars.
“The surface of Greenland is a little larger (than that of the Alaska peninsula that Russia sold to the United States in the 19th century) (…) That means that if we compare it with the cost of the purchase of Alaska by the United States, the price for Greenland would be around 200-250 million dollars,” he said during a meeting of the Russian Security Council, the second one convened this week.
“If we compare with the prices of gold at that time, that figure would be higher, surely close to one billion. I believe that the United States can reach that figure,” he added.
Putin highlighted that Russia has historical experience in this regard with the sale of Alaska, which Washington bought in 1867 from Tsar Alexander II for 7.2 million dollars, at 4.73 dollars per square kilometer (about 158 million at the current exchange rate, according to the Russian president).
In addition, he recalled that Denmark always treated Greenland as a colony and in a “quite harsh, if not cruel” manner, reports the TASS agency.
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However, he assured that this issue “does not concern us” and expressed his belief that Washington and Copenhagen will eventually reach an agreement.
The president of the United States, Donald Trump, announced this Wednesday in Davos (Switzerland) that Washington is working with NATO on an agreement on Greenland that “is really fantastic.”
Senior Russian officials have refrained from criticizing the possible annexation of Greenland and have even questioned whether the island is part of Denmark, hoping that Washington will recognize Russian territorial gains in Ukraine.
Putin assured at the time that the current US Administration’s plans to “annex” Greenland are not “a crazy idea” by the current tenant of the White House, but rather have “historical roots.”
He recalled that Washington already tried to gain Danish autonomy and Iceland in 1860, but Congress did not support the motion. US President Harry Truman also offered 100 million in 1946.
Putin recalled that when the US bought Alaska, the American press called the operation “madness.” “But the acquisition of Alaska is probably seen differently now in the United States, as are the actions of President Andrew Johnson,” he noted.
With information from EFE
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