United States Vice President J.D. Vance flew to Greenland for a visit on 28 March, US media reported.
At the US military base Pituffik, Vance and his wife Usha had lunch with military personnel. Afterwards, the vice president gave a speech in which he emphasised Greenland’s strategic importance for US security in the Arctic region.
Vance said, among other things, that Denmark is not capable of providing security in the Arctic the way the U.S. can and allegedly does not invest enough in the welfare of the island’s inhabitants. He said the states would be happy to take control of Greenland.
Asked by a reporter whether the US plans to use military force to do so, the vice president said he hoped it would not have to do so. He suggested that Greenland would gain independence from Denmark, whose autonomous territory it is now, and then negotiations could begin on its voluntary annexation to the US, as this would be in favour of both the American people and the islanders.
Vance believes that otherwise Greenland would be defenceless against threats from China, Russia and other countries with interests in the region.
The vice president did not meet with representatives of the Greenland Authority.
US President Donald Trump on 28 March once again reiterated his intention to bring Greenland under US control.
“Greenland is essential to our national and international security,” he said at a briefing in the Oval Office of the White House.
Greenland’s new prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, took office on 28 March. At his first press conference in Nuuk, he urged the islanders to unite to resist external pressures.
Nielsen is a supporter of Greenland’s independence who has repeatedly stated that the island has enough resources to develop its economy on its own.