Why Trump's Greenland Gambit Hurts West's Ukraine Deal

The colonial discourse is back.

As the countdown to US President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House approaches, Europeans have been discussing for months how to avoid ending up on the menu.

Now, parts of Europe are on his shopping list.

Greenland, a largely autonomous Danish territory, as well as the Panama Canal, are both necessary “for economic security,” Trump said, refusing to rule out the use of economic or military force to seize them by strength.

European leaders were unequivocal.

To many, Trump sounds like Russia's Vladimir Putin talking about Ukraine or China's President Xi Jinping talking about the reintegration of Taiwan.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other leaders have made clear that “borders must not be moved by force”, while Europe's top diplomat Kaja Kallas called for “respecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty” of the Greenland.

But beyond the frenzy on this side of the Atlantic, one country will be particularly attentive to Trump's territorial claims: Russia.

Moscow has long sought to justify the territorial annexations of the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia as well as the Crimean peninsula, after the international community considered its annexation referendums in the occupied territories a sham.

On this basis, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov gave some advice to Trump: take into account the opinions of the Greenlanders, just as Russia did with the inhabitants of its “four new regions of the Russian Federation”. Russia.”

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Putin would have a field day if Trump followed through. This would shatter the West's once untouchable position in defending state sovereignty and territorial integrity.

This fissure has emerged in Europe's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Israel's war on Gaza, which has been marred by accusations of “double standards” in its handling of such violations or in the application of international law.

Russia's presentation of its invasion as a measure to prevent NATO's neocolonial encroachment, while itself a colonial war of conquest, has been a popular narrative not only in the Global South, but also in the western extreme left and extreme right fringes.

Even if Trump's announcements end up being just hot air, they will provide fertile ground for Russia, China and others to exploit as evidence of Western hypocrisy and inconsistency.

And in the worst case scenario, if Trump follows through on his words, it could open the way to territorial claims and prompt rival powers to make their own decisions.

THE EU IN THE WORLD

SANCTIONS IN SYRIA | While some EU countries remain hesitant towards the new Syrian government, European foreign ministers are ready to consider gradually lifting sanctions from the bloc if the leaders in Damascus promise to behave well.

Senior diplomats from the Middle East and Europe are expected in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Sunday to discuss how to encourage the transition in Syria.

Saudi Arabia is among countries in the region taking a more cautious approach toward Syria's new leaders than Turkey and Qatar, which were the first to reopen their embassies in Damascus after Assad's fall.

DEFENSE BRIEFING

LAST RAMSTEIN? | At last before Trump During U.S.-led Ukraine Defense Contact Group negotiations, Kyiv's military aid contributors set production targets to support arms donations to the war-torn country through 2027 .

EDIP I THREATS The French Minister of Defense, Sébastien Lecornu, double over the country's insistence that EU defense money be spent in Europe despite growing pressure for the United States and other foreign companies to get a share.

MAHEUR I CABLES Northern members of NATO will increase surveillance of underwater infrastructure and the Russian ghost fleet following an incident in the Baltic Sea.

GAP SWITZERLAND I EU countries approved Switzerland is joining a military mobility project aimed at ensuring the smooth movement of armies and defense equipment across Europe and to the United States, filling a keyhole on the map.

WIDE EUROPE

FREEZE OF MOLDOVA | Moldova hopes to use European Union funds to keep your lights on after the shutdown of Russian gas supplies to its rogue region of Transnistria triggered price spikes and power outages.

We have a practical explanation everything you need to know about the region, its deepening crisis and why it all matters for the rest of Europe.

SLOVAK BLACKMAIL I Slovakia could suspend humanitarian aid and emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine and leverage its veto power in European affairs if kyiv does not resume gas flows through its territory.

ARMENIA PUSH | Amid a growing rift with its former ally Russia, Armenia has passed a bill calling on the country to submit an application begin EU accession negotiations with Brussels.

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