MOSCOW. Jan 13 (Interfax) - Russia is concerned by the claims of the new U.S. administration to Greenland, the violation of international law and infringement upon other states' Arctic interests must be prevented, Federation Council speaker Valentina Matviyenko said.
"To Russia, the Arctic has a huge strategic, geopolitical significance. We cannot fail to be concerned by such still incomprehensible encroachments. A possibility of violating the international law of advancing on the Arctic cannot be ruled out, we already had examples of the United States trying to expand its shelf, this should not be allowed to happen," Matviyenko told journalists on Monday.
Russia wants to cooperate on this issue, the "Arctic must be a territory of peace, consent," Matviyenko said.
"Violation of international law in detriment of other states must be prevented," she said.
Earlier, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump suggested that it would be worthwhile making Greenland part of the U.S. as it would be in Washington's national interest. At the same time, he did not rule out using military force to achieve that goal. This raised concerns in Denmark and other European countries. For their part, the authorities in Greenland said they would seek independence from Copenhagen in the future, but not in order to become part of the U.S..