Why Trump’s Greenland gambit hurts the West’s case on Ukraine Colonial talk is back. With the countdown to US President-elect Donald Trump returning to the White House, Europeans have discussed for months how to avoid ending up on his menu. Now, parts of Europe are on his shopping list. Greenland, a largely autonomous Danish territory, as well as the Panama Canal, were both needed "for economic security,” Trump said, refusing to rule out using either economic or military muscle to take them by force. European leaders have been unequivocal. To many, Trump sounds like Russia's Vladimir Putin talking about Ukraine or Chinese President Xi Jinping talking about reintegrating Taiwan. Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other leaders made clear that "borders must not be moved by force," while EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas called to "respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty" of Greenland. But beyond the frenzy on this side of the Atlantic, one country will particularly be watching Trump’s territorial claims very closely: Russia. Moscow has long sought to justify territorial annexations of Ukraine's Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions and the Crimean Peninsula after the international community deemed its annexation referenda in occupied territories a sham. Building on this, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has offered some advice to Trump: take into account the opinions of those in Greenland, just as Russia did with the residents of its "four new regions of the Russian Federation." Putin would have a field day if Trump followed through. It would crack open the West's once-untouchable stance on defending state sovereignty and territorial integrity. This crack appeared in Europe's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Israel's war on Gaza, which was marred by accusations of 'double standards' in addressing such violations or applying international law. Russia’s framing of its invasion as a step to pre-empt neocolonial encroachment by NATO, while being a colonial war of conquest itself, has been a popular narrative not only in the Global South but also in Western fringes on the far left and far right. Even if Trump's announcements end up being hot air, they will provide fertile ground for Russia, China, and Co. to seize upon as evidence of Western hypocrisy and inconsistency. And in the worst-case scenario, if Trump acts on his words, it could open the floodgates for territorial claims and inspire rival powers to make their own moves. | 
