Greenland: Vance to visit the US base. Frederiksen: “unacceptable pressure”

Brussels – Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, is back at the center of diplomatic tensions between the Kingdom of Denmark and the United States, which in recent months has not concealed its interest in taking over the Arctic island. After the announcement of the visit by Usha Vance, wife of US Vice President JD Vance, along with National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, stirred discontent in Greenland and in Copenhagen, JD Vance himself said on his social channels that he would travel to Greenland with the delegation this Friday (March 28).

“There was so much excitement around Usha’s visit to Greenland this Friday that I decided I didn’t want to let her have all the fun for herself,” Vance said in his announcement video. The White House number two wants to “check out what’s going on with security there in Greenland, many other countries are threatening Greenland, have threatened to use its territories and its seaways to threaten the US and Canada.” The vice president then continued on the topic of security and, speaking for President Donald Trump, said, “We want to reinvigorate the security of the people of Greenland because we believe it is important for the protection of the security of the entire world. Unfortunately, leaders in America and Denmark, I think, have ignored Greenland for far too long. It’s been bad for Greenland and also bad for the security of the whole world.” In words not devoid of a certain paternalism, Vance concluded, “We think we can take things in a different direction, so I’m going to check it out.”

A few hours earlier, Danish Prime Minister Matte Frederiksen, speaking to Tv2 about the visit of members of the Trump administration, accused the United States of exerting “unacceptable pressure” on Greenland, which she vowed to resist. Recently, Usha Vance presented her trip as a three-day family excursion, with the capital Nuuk and a traditional sled dog competition as the main stops. Yet, the trip’s timing, coinciding with negotiations for the formation of the new local government, has angered Danes and Greenlanders, who see it as another show of force by Washington.

 “You cannot conduct a private visit with official representatives of another country,” Frederiksen said. Her protests led Washington to change plans, with the approval of Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, stipulating that the Vances would limit their visit to the Pituffik Space Base, a US military base located hundreds of kilometers from the nearest population center. The outpost, built by agreement with Denmark during the Cold War as a ballistic missile detection center, is US territory, which made the change of plans a small diplomatic victory for Copenhagen, easing, at least for now, the tempers of the two countries.