RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin has said that US President Donald Trump’s push for control of Greenland is not surprising, given longstanding US interest in the mineral-rich territory.

Mr Trump angered much of Europe by suggesting that the US would take control of the self-governing, mineral-rich territory of Denmark by any means necessary.

Speaking at a policy forum in the Arctic port of Murmansk on Thursday, Mr Putin noted that Washington had first considered plans to win control of Greenland in the 19th century, then offered to buy it from Denmark after World War II.