Denmark has welcomed the United States scaling back its Greenland visit to just a military base after facing an earlier backlash.
"I think it's very positive that the Americans have cancelled their visit among Greenlandic society. They will only visit their own base, Pituffik, and we have nothing against that," Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told reporters on Wednesday.
The visit, prompted by US President Donald Trump's controversial push to acquire Greenland, was originally planned for the US delegation to "explore historical sites" and "learn about Greenlandic heritage" during the Avannaata Qimussersu, Greenland's national dogsled race.
The delegation will now visit the Pitiffuk space base to meet with US Space Force personnel.
Vice President JD Vance, in a video statement, said they would "check out what's going on with the security" of Greenland.
Greenland's acting leader calls the visit a "provocation," while PM Frederiksen reaffirmed Denmark’s commitment to US cooperation but rejected any takeover.
‘Power over us’
The changes regarding the visit came after Greenland’s Prime Minister Mute Egede called the US delegation “highly aggressive,” accusing Washington of demonstrating “power over us.”
"The cars (from the US advance security detail) that were delivered a few days ago are in the process of being sent back home, and the wife of the US vice president and the national security adviser will not visit Greenlandic society," Rasmussen said.
"The matter is being wound up, and that's positive," he added.
Since beginning his second term in January, Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in acquiring Greenland, citing its importance for US security and “even international security.”
Polls show Greenlanders strongly oppose joining the US, and US voters surveyed also disapprove of Trump’s push to take the island.
As global warming unlocks Arctic access, locals worry their self-governing homeland has become a pawn in the geopolitical struggle between the US, Russia, and China, with Trump’s push for control threatening their aspirations for independence.
