Russia has mocked Britain for sending just one member of a defence force to protect Greenland, as Europe dispatched a 30-strong contingent amid fears Donald Trump may try to seize the territory.
Dmitry Rogozin, a close ally of Vladimir Putin and a Russian senator in occupied Ukraine, questioned whether the lone British officer was James Bond. He said: “If I were Trump, I wouldn't just be offended — I'd be insulted. Against Vladimir Putin and Russia, it seems, they need to gather 15,000 rifles, armour, artillery, budgets, summits, a ‘coalition of the willing’ plus 33 folders of resolutions. But against Trump and the US — just 30 people. They couldn't even scrape together 40, apparently it was too embarrassing.”
The force, announced as part of European efforts, comprises 15 French, 13 German, two Norwegian and one British representative. Rogozin, speaking on state media, added: “Britain decided not to skimp and contributed to the defence of Greenland. For every two Norwegians and 13 Germans, they're sending one Brit. One. Without replacements. Without reinforcements. Probably with a thermos and a sense of duty. Or maybe it's James Bond and his girls? 29 girls to keep Bond warm in Greenland.”
Rogozin, 62, a former deputy prime minister and ex-head of the Russian Space Agency, also warned that Trump’s real motive for wanting Greenland is to station intercontinental missiles under the ice, which would lead to “the beginning of the end of the world”. He said: “The US, led by an eccentric, may convince themselves that, thanks to the annexation of Greenland and the deployment there of components of the command and control system for strategic offensive weapons, they have achieved nuclear superiority over Russia and China.”
