Denmark PM to visit Greenland as Trump applies pressure

Denmark's Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, will on Wednesday visit semi-autonomous Greenland for talks with the territory's incoming government.

The visit comes after U.S. President Donald Trump's repeated expressions of interest in controlling the Arctic island.

DAILY POST reports that Frederiksen begins her three-day trip less than a week after a visit to the territory by U.S. Vice President JD Vance received a frosty reception from authorities in Denmark and Greenland.

Greenland's incoming Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, who won last month's general election and will form a coalition government, has said he welcomes Frederiksen's trip, stating on Monday that Denmark remains Greenland's closest partner.

Relations between Greenland and Denmark have been strained after revelations in recent years of historical mistreatment of Greenlanders under colonial rule.

However, Trump's interest in controlling Greenland, part of a growing international focus on competition for influence in the Arctic, has prompted Denmark to hasten work to improve ties with the island.

Nielsen said late on Monday that Greenland would strengthen its ties with Denmark until it could fulfill its ultimate wish to become a sovereign nation.

“Greenland wishes to establish a respectful relationship with the United States. Talking about annexation and talking about acquiring Greenland and not respecting the sovereignty is not respectful. So let's start by being respectful to each other and build up a great partnership on everything,” he said.

Vance, during his visit to a U.S. military base in northern Greenland on Friday, accused Denmark of not doing a good job of keeping the island safe and suggested that the United States would better protect the strategically located territory.

Frederiksen, who has said it is up to the people of Greenland to decide their own future, called Vance's description of Denmark unfair.