Copenhagen (AFP) – Greenland’s prime minister, Mute Egede, accused Washington on Monday of interfering in its political affairs by sending a US delegation to the Danish territory, which is coveted by US President Donald Trump. Egede said US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz would visit Greenland this week, along with Usha Vance, the wife of US Vice President JD Vance. Usha Vance was to attend a dogsled race with her son. Greenlandic media reports said the delegation also included US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, a former mining executive. They showed images of two US Hercules planes on the tarmac at Nuuk airport as part of an advance security team dispatched to the vast Arctic island.
Speaking to Greenlandic daily Sermitiaq, Egede said the “only purpose of the visit was a demonstration of power, and the signal should not be misunderstood.” Since returning to power in January, Trump has insisted he wants the United States to take over Greenland for what he says are national security purposes. He has refused to rule out the use of force to achieve that aim. Greenland, which is seeking to emancipate itself from Copenhagen, and Denmark itself have both repeatedly rebuffed Trump, insisting that only Greenlanders can decide their future.
Egede said Washington had previously been told there would be “no talks” on any subject until a new Greenlandic government was in place to conduct business. The general election on March 11 left him heading a caretaker government.
– ‘Aggressive move’ –
“It should be said clearly that our integrity and democracy must be respected without foreign interference,” Egede said in a post on Facebook. He added that the US delegation’s visit “cannot be seen as just a private visit.” “(Waltz) is Trump’s confidant and closest advisor, and his presence in Greenland alone will certainly make the Americans believe in Trump’s mission, and the pressure will increase after the visit,” Egede told Sermitsiaq.
Jens-Frederik Nielsen, leader of the centre-right Democrats and likely future Greenlandic prime minister, has previously criticised Trump’s Greenland ambitions as “inappropriate”. Egede urged the self-governing territory’s Western allies to speak up and “clearly support and back up Greenland.” Ulrik Pram Gad of the Danish Institute for International Studies called the visit an “aggressive move” by Washington. “They haven’t been invited by Greenlanders. They haven’t been invited by the Danes. They just announced that they will go,” he told AFP.
Greenland’s political parties are currently in the process of negotiating a new coalition government following the election, which the Democrats won. “Normally, as a friend or ally, you would stay out of that,” Pram Gad said. He said the visit was aimed at showing that “Denmark is not in control of Greenland.”
– Coveted region –
With no officials to welcome the US delegation, “they will be pushing this point that, ok, nobody’s in control here, there’s a need for us to step in,” Pram Gad said. He said the choice to send Usha Vance was part of a “sham” charm offensive. She will be “saying nice things about Greenlandic cultural heritage,” while “at the same time you send a guy who’s an ex-Marine in charge of security at a time when there is no one to talk to in charge of foreign and security policy for Greenland.” Meanwhile, the inclusion of Chris Wright “sends the signal that we’re after resources here,” he said.
Greenland holds massive untapped mineral and oil reserves, including rare earths crucial to the green transition and seen as a potential springboard to independence. Oil and uranium exploration are banned, however, and there are only two active mines due to the complexity of mining in the inhospitable climate. Greenland is also strategically located in the Arctic between North America and Europe, with rising US, Chinese, and Russian interest in the region as climate change opens up shipping routes previously covered by ice.
According to opinion polls, most of the island’s 57,000 inhabitants of Greenland support independence from Denmark but not annexation by Washington. Trump’s son, Donald Jr, also made a visit of several hours to Greenland in early January.
© 2024 AFP
