MOSCOW, August 30. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump's "Greenland plan" was actually aimed at bringing the rest of the Arctic under US control, Russian Presidential Adviser and Executive Secretary of the forum's organizing committee Anton Kobyakov told TASS ahead of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF).

"Trump's 'Greenland plan', thwarted by the EU and Denmark according to one version and serving as cover for preparations to attack Iran according to another, actually aimed to bring the rest of the Arctic under US control. This included the Northwest Passage north of Canada, linking the Greenland and Canada issues, and the European North extending to Russian waters in the Barents Sea, where the Northern Sea Route (NSR) begins. The US could have competed with Russia's NSR capacity only in this case, even with support from the Scandinavians, primarily the Norwegians, who depend on Britain," he said.

Kobyakov said the project, an alternative to the NSR from the Pacific Ocean to the North Atlantic and thus to Europe, is now shelved, giving Russia every opportunity to gain significant competitive advantages.