Norway’s chief of defence has warned Russia could target the country to protect nuclear assets stationed in the north of the country near the border. Gen Eirik Kristoffersen said: “We don’t exclude a land grab from Russia as part of their plan to protect their own nuclear capabilities, which is the only thing they have left that actually threatens the United States.”

Despite saying Russia does not have conquest goals in Norway in the same way as it has in Ukraine or other former Soviet territories, Mr Kristoffersen said Russia’s nuclear arsenal is based on the Kola peninsula, a short distance from the Norwegian border, including nuclear submarines, land-based missiles and nuclear-capable aircraft. We don’t take that off the table, because it’s still an option for Russia to do that in order to make sure that their nuclear capabilities, their second strike capabilities are protected. That’s sort of the scenario in the high north that we plan for,” he told The Guardian.

Mr Kristoffersen was also sharply critical of recent comments by Donald Trump on Greenland, as well as of the US president’s “unacceptable” claims that allied countries had not served in frontline positions in Afghanistan, while US troops had done the bulk of the fighting.

“It didn’t make sense what he said, and I know that all my American friends from Afghanistan know that,” said Mr Kristoffersen, 56, a career army officer who served several tours in Afghanistan.

“We were definitely on the frontline. We did the full spectrum of missions, from arresting Taliban leaders to training Afghans to doing surveillance.

“We lost 10 Norwegians. I lost friends there. So we all felt it didn’t make sense.”

Asked if China and Russia have military designs on Greenland, Mr Krisoffersen said it was “very strange” to hear the claims, as Norway has “a very good overview of what is happening in the Arctic from our intelligence service, and we don’t see anything like that in Greenland”.

He also said: “We see Russian activity with their submarines and also their underwater programme in the traditional part of the Arctic … but it’s not about Greenland, it’s about reaching the Atlantic.”

The army chief does not believe in a military US intervention in Greenland. In his interview, he said “they won’t do it, so it’s a hypothetical question,” before adding: “If Russia is learning something from the war in Ukraine, I think it’s that it’s never a good idea to occupy a country.

“If the people don’t want it, it’s going to cost you a lot of money and a lot of effort, and in the end, you will actually lose.

“To occupy in the first place is often very easy, but to keep the occupation going is very, very hard. And I think all expansionist powers have experienced that.”