During a meeting with the permanent members of the Russian Security Council, President Vladimir Putin reflected on US President Donald Trump's intention to acquire Greenland and assessed the value of this island using the example of Alaska.

According to Putin, what is happening regarding Greenland now does not concern Russia at all.

At the same time, however, the Russian president recalled that Moscow has experience in resolving similar matters with Washington.

"In the 19th century, I believe in 1867, as we know, Russia sold Alaska to the United States, and the United States bought it from us. And if my memory serves me correctly, the area of Alaska is about 1 million 717 thousand square kilometers, a little more. The United States bought Alaska from us for 7.2 million US dollars. These figures, of course, need to be verified, but I believe that’s about it. At today’s prices, taking into account inflation over all these decades, that figure would be $158 million,” Putin said.

According to the Russian president, Greenland’s area is slightly larger, “I think 2 million 166 thousand square kilometers, and a little more.”

“That’s a difference of about 449-450 thousand square kilometers. If we compare this with the cost of the acquisition of Alaska by the United States, the price of Greenland would be about $200-250 million,” Putin added.

“Compared to the prices of gold at that time, this figure would be higher, probably about a billion [us dollars]. But I believe the United States could have overcome that figure. And most importantly, Denmark and the United States also have experience in this matter. I believe Denmark already sold the Virgin Islands in 1917, and the United States bought them. So they also have experience in this area,” the Russian president noted.

“By the way, Denmark has always treated Greenland as a colony and has been quite strict, if not cruel, towards it. But that’s a completely different matter, and it’s unlikely anyone is interested in it now. But it certainly doesn’t concern us [i.e. Russia]. I believe they will sort it out between themselves,” Putin concluded.