US invasion of Greenland would make Putin ‘the happiest man on earth’, warns Spain’s PM Sanchez

Greenland row exposes NATO strain, Russia gains

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned that a U.S. invasion of Greenland “would make Putin the happiest man on earth,” according to a newspaper interview published on Sunday.

Sanchez said any American military action against Denmark’s vast Arctic territory would undermine NATO and lend legitimacy to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“If we focus on Greenland, I have to say that a U.S. invasion of that territory would make Vladimir Putin the happiest man in the world. Why? Because it would legitimize his attempted invasion of Ukraine,” he said in an interview with La Vanguardia.

“If the United States were to use force, it would be the death knell for NATO. Putin would be doubly happy.”

President Donald Trump on Saturday appeared to shift course on Greenland, pledging to impose a new round of escalating tariffs on European allies until the United States is permitted to buy the territory.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said an additional 10 percent import tariff would take effect on February 1 on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Great Britain — all countries already facing tariffs imposed by his administration.

Trump added that the tariffs would rise to 25 percent on June 1 and would remain in place until a deal is reached for the United States to purchase Greenland.

Trump has repeatedly insisted he will settle for nothing less than ownership of Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark. Leaders of both Denmark and Greenland have insisted the island is not for sale and does not want to be part of the United States.

(With Reuters input)