Danish PM heads to Greenland as Trump seeks control of territory

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is travelling to Greenland for a three-day trip aimed at building the trust of Greenlandic officials as the Trump administration seeks control of the vast Arctic territory. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced plans for her trip after US vice president JD Vance visited a US air base in Greenland last week and accused Denmark of underinvesting in the territory. Greenland is a mineral-rich, strategically critical island that is becoming more accessible due to climate change.

Mr Trump has said that the landmass is critical to US security. It is part of North America but is a semi-autonomous territory belonging to the Kingdom of Denmark. Ms Frederiksen is due to meet the incoming Greenlandic leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, after an election last month that produced a new government.



She will also meet the future Naalakkersuisut, the cabinet, in a visit due to last until Friday. “It has my deepest respect how the Greenlandic people and the Greenlandic politicians handle the great pressure that is on Greenland,” she said in government statement announcing the visit. On the agenda are talks with Mr Nielsen about cooperation between Greenland and Denmark.

For years, the people of Greenland, with a population of about 57,000, have been working towards eventual independence from Denmark. The Trump administration’s threats to take control of the island one way or the other, possibly even with military force, have angered many in Greenland and Denmark. The incoming government wants to take a slower approach on the question of eventual independence.

The political group in Greenland most sympathetic to the US President, the Naleraq party that advocates a swift path toward independence, was excluded from coalition talks to form the next government. Peter Viggo Jakobsen, associate professor at the Danish defence academy, said last week that the Trump administration’s aspirations for Greenland could backfire and push the more mild parties closer to Denmark. He said that “Trump has scared most Greenlanders away from this idea about a close relationship to the United States because they don’t trust him.

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