Political leaders in Greenland, the self-governing Danish territory coveted by President Donald Trump, have agreed to form a broad four-party government "to face the heavy pressure" from the United States, the new prime minister said.
Friday’s announcement of the new government –– which does not include the ultra-nationalist party –– came just hours ahead of an uninvited visit to Greenland by US Vice President JD Vance, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
The prime ministers of both Denmark and Greenland have criticised the visit as putting "unacceptable pressure" on Copenhagen and Nuuk and qualified it as "foreign interference" and "inappropriate".
"It is very important that we put aside our disagreements and differences... because only in this way will we be able to cope with the heavy pressure we are exposed to from outside," Greenland's new prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, told reporters as he presented the new government.
Nielsen's social-liberal Democrats emerged victorious in the March 11 election. Outgoing prime minister Mute Egede of the left-green Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA) will serve as finance minister.
"Seventy-five percent of the population is united by this coalition," Nielsen said.
The ultra-nationalist Naleraq party is the only one of the five parties represented in parliament that will not be in government, having quit the negotiations earlier this week.
All of the five parties are in favour of independence, though they all favour different timeframes, as the country still depends heavily on subsidies from Denmark.
Naleraq, which came in second in the election, is the only party in favour of emancipation as soon as possible.
"We need stability and unity at a time when foreign actors are trying to influence the development of our nation," the new government's official programme states, local media reported.
"When it comes to independence, it is important that we proceed cautiously," it reads.
Carina Ren, head of the Arctic programme at Denmark's University of Aalborg, told AFP independence now looked set to be a long-term project.
After hearing the government's first reading of its programme, she said it was clear that "discussions on a rapid independence process have been put aside, it's not for now."
Since returning to power in January, Trump has insisted he wants to take over Greenland for national security purposes, refusing to rule out the use of force to do so.
