Vice-president expresses interest in Arctic security as four Greelandic parties form unity coalition in rebuke to US
The White House accused Denmark of neglect as JD Vance landed in Greenland for an unsolicited and controversial visit to the Arctic island.
Shortly after flying into the ice-locked US military base of Pituffik in north-west Greenland with his wife, Usha, and other senior US officials, on Friday he told US troops that he 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 said.
Vance also said it was “cold as shit here” as he arrived to temperatures of -19C.
A senior White House official said during a speech he would make the case that Danish leaders have “spent decades mistreating the Greenlandic people, treating them like second-class citizens and allowing infrastructure on the island to fall into disrepair”.
Hours before, in Nuuk, political leaders agreed to form a broad four-party coalition government, in a show of national unity.
In a rebuke to the Trump administration and its public campaign to gain control of Greenland, four of the territory’s five parties signed the coalition agreement on Friday, which states on page one: “Greenland belongs to us.”
There has been a week of heightened tension, amid already strained relations between the US, Greenland and Denmark as a result of Donald Trump’s repeated threats to acquire Greenland.
Accompanying Vance were Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, who is at the centre of the embarrassing Signal message group security breach, his wife, Julia Nesheiwat, the energy secretary, Chris Wright, and senator Mike Lee.
Writing on social media before his plane landed, JD Vance said: “We’re on our way and looking forward to it!”
The White House said Vance would address Danish treatment of Greenlanders and Arctic security in his speech.
“Unfortunately, Danish leaders have spent decades mistreating the Greenlandic people, treating them like second-class citizens and allowing infrastructure on the island to fall into disrepair,” a senior White House official told Fox News.
