As Russia revises borders, U.S. could reclaim Arctic sovereignty — but will Trump stand up to Putin?

In Mexico City, Trump was shown a map where half of America is marked as Mexican territory. Later, Moscow might show a map claiming "Alaska is ours!" and the Kremlin could express a desire to establish a Russian-Mexican border near Fort Ross. Think I’m joking? Not at all. Here’s a direct quote: "When asked who borders Russia, any diligent student would start listing various countries - from Poland to Mongolia. And no one would probably name a country like Mexico."

Meanwhile, China and Russia are actively developing the Northern Sea Route, exploiting the United States' Arctic vulnerability.

Whoever controls Greenland, Iceland, and Svalbard controls the gateway to the Arctic from the North Atlantic and vice versa. The U.S., together with Europe, could create a Western shield against Chinese and Russian expansion.

An Eastern shield could have been formed if Trump had remembered that Wrangel Island, located near the Chukchi Sea and close to the Bering Strait, does not actually belong to Russia. In 1924, the Soviet gunboat Red October simply seized it, expelling a small group of American residents. In 1928, the U.S. rejected the Soviet annexation of the island but did not take practical steps.

In 2022, the question was timidly raised about the basis on which this American island is controlled by Russia. Thomas Emanuel Dans, who was the U.S. Arctic Research Commission's representative in 2021, stated that there has never been any official recognition by the U.S. of Russia's claims to the island, which Moscow considers part of the Chukotka Autonomous Area.

Everything changed with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and now "issues of sovereignty and territorial integrity are now front and center," Dans said to Newsweek. He noted that "the return of American land would be a very productive step. Particularly as we're engaged in trying to restore Ukrainian sovereignty over their lands, and we have issues of our own with Russia."

If Russia is revising borders in Europe, the U.S. has every right to revise borders in the Arctic. But it seems Trump is hesitant to make a claim against Putin! It's much easier to mock Trudeau and Frederiksen. This is how MAGA turns into a farce that the world laughs at, though it is truly sad.

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About the author. Mykhailo Gonchar, expert in international energy and security relations.

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