"Everyone is well aware of the US plans to annex Greenland" and that "it is deeply wrong to believe that this is some kind of extravagant speech of the new American administration," Russian President Vladimir Putin said, according to the Interfax agency.

"We are talking about serious plans on the part of the United States regarding Greenland," Putin added, referring to the statements of the Washington leader who has repeatedly expressed US ambitions for the large autonomous territory which however formally belongs to Denmark.

The Donald's latest statement on the subject to podcaster Vince Coglianese: "We need Greenland for international security. We have to have it," Trump said. "I hate to say it this way, but we have to have it," he insisted. These words came a few hours after the announcement of the visit of his vice president JD Vance and his wife to the American military base of Pituffik , on the northwest coast of the island.

(Unioneonline/lf)