WASHINGTON — United States Vice President JD Vance landed in Greenland with the clearest marching orders yet from his boss to claim the remote and resource-rich Arctic island as US territory.
The timing of the trip comes as the semi-autonomous Danish territory has formed a government that excludes the hardliners seeking fast independence. The new prime minister and winner of March elections, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, has spelled out clearly that Greenland is not for sale.
"As you've heard, we have some interest in Greenland from the Trump administration, so we're going to talk a little bit about that," Vance told US Space Force guardians shortly after landing.
"The president is really interested in Arctic security, as you all know, it's a big issue and it’s only going to get bigger over the coming decades," he added.
That is not a message US leader Donald Trump wants to hear. The 33-year-old Nielsen finds himself in an uncomfortable position at the centre of a geopolitical battle for control of mineral wealth as melting ice caps open up shipping routes in a remote and once inaccessible region.
The stakes were made clear by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who weighed in on the eve of the visit from the Arctic port of Murmansk to say he was watching the situation very closely — and that Trump's claim was "serious."
A view shows the city of Nuuk, Greenland, on Friday. (Photo: Reuters)
Russia and the United States are engaged directly in negotiations over Ukraine and Putin's decision to opine on Greenland, given all the sensitivities around it, signposted his own strategic interest in the Arctic as the one-time Cold War foes take stock of their own spheres of influence.
This is the charged political climate that the Vance have flown into. He is joined by his wife, Usha Vance, and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright — who were originally on the trip, then off, then put back on.
And Europeans have been forewarned about Trump's second in command brass tacks. Last time he came to Europe, he eviscerated the continent and told them they were afraid of their own voters. This trip makes him the highest-ranking US official to visit Greenland.
The way he joined the Greenland tour was unusual.
It was originally envisaged as a delegation led by his wife, along with Waltz and Wright. It was also marketed as a friendly family excursion to take in the sights and included a national dog sled race.
But Danish and local officials were immediately triggered both by the size of the party and the real intentions of the trip. The backlash led to a downsize of the group and itinerary.
The result was an actual upgrade to the scope of the visit — one that Vance sought to downplay. He said on video message that he did not want to let his wife "have all that fun by herself."
But the real reason for his presence was made clear by Trump himself hours later during an interview on Wednesday with conservative talk show host Vince Coglianese.
Do Greenlanders want this? A poll found that that 85% do not.
"I don't know," Trump said. "I don't think they're un-eager, but I think that we have to do it, and we have to convince them."
