A top Vladimir Putin ally has warned that Greenlanders may vote to become part of Russia if Donald Trump does not act quickly enough to secure the island. The stark warning to America was issued by Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev, who previously served as both the country’s President and Prime Minister.Mr Medvedev said: “Trump needs to hurry. “According to unverified information, in a few days there could be a sudden referendum, at which the entire 55,000-strong Greenland could vote to join Russia.
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“And then that’s it. No new little stars on the (US) flag.”Mr Trump has repeatedly insisted that Greenland needs to be owned by Washington to keep Russia and China from seizing control.The President, who has faced strong objections over his proposed takeover from Denmark and Greenland, has claimed the location and natural resources abundant on the island make it vital for national security – and joked the territory’s military might of “dog sleds” would prove no match for the US.While Russia has not launched a claim over the Arctic island, it has closely monitored its role in the security of the region. The isolated land mass has a permanent US military presence of around 150 troops, with the majority stationed at the Pituffik Space Base. It is also valuably located in close proximity to a string of Arctic shipping routes. The Kremlin is yet to comment on Mr Trump’s most recent push to obtain Greenland, but when the proposal was mentioned last year it confirmed it was looking at the “rather dramatic” developments surrounding the debate. As one of eight of the Arctic states, Russia was previously heavily involved in cooperation within the region – but saw its influence diminish after launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. GREENLAND – READ THE LATEST:Britain could send troops to Greenland to ‘call Donald Trump’s bluff’ after US takeover threatsLabour MP admits Keir Starmer ‘doesn’t always agree’ with Donald Trump after PM’s Greenland callJohn Bolton tells Donald Trump ‘there are ways to get to Greenland’It was one of eight countries in the Arctic Council, which paused its activities soon after the conflict erupted in Eastern Europe. The other seven members – Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Canada, Denmark and the US – later resumed much of the organisation’s projects and left Moscow out in the cold. On Friday, Mr Tump warned that the US will acquire Greenland “the easy way” or “the hard way” and has not ruled out a full annexation of the island. He claimed the area semi-autonomous Danish territory was “covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place”.The President told reporters: “I love the people of China. I love the people of Russia.”But I don’t want them as a neighbour in Greenland, not going to happen.”US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to hold talks with Denmark about the future of its territory next week amid rising tensions with Copenhagen over the issue.According to one Danish poll, 38 per cent of Danes believe that Mr Trump will launch an invasion of Greenland while he is in office. Our Standards:
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