Some Russian state media figures reportedly said the U.S. president-elect's actions could legitimize Russia's own imperialist goals.

John Bolton, President-elect Trump’s former national security adviser, said Trump’s unwillingness to rule out military force on Greenland could bolster the positions of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin as they seek to justify their expansionist visions.

The island’s rare earth minerals and plum Arctic position have turned it into a geopolitical hotspot and the object of American fantasies.