Greenland criticizes 'private' US delegation amid sovereignty fears
The Greenlandic and Danish authorities have criticized the planned visit this week to Greenland by the wife of the U.S. Vice President, Usha Vance, the U.S. President's National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz, and the Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright.
The acting Prime Minister of Greenland, Mute B. Egede, stated in a Facebook post that the visit by the American delegation cannot be viewed solely as private. "It should be said clearly that our integrity and democracy must be respected without foreign interference," he emphasized.
Egede added that there will be no meeting with the U.S. delegation until a new government is formed in Greenland. Elections were held in this Danish-dependent autonomous territory at the beginning of March. The new authorities have yet to be established.
The Prime Minister of Greenland called on the island's residents to "unite" in defense of the country, referring to an anti-American demonstration in mid-March in front of the U.S. consulate in Greenland's capital, Nuuk, which involved nearly 1,000 Greenlanders.
The Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, expressed similar sentiments, stating that the visit of the U.S. delegation "cannot be seen in isolation from the public statements that have been made". President Donald Trump has expressed interest multiple times in recent weeks in acquiring Greenland.
In the kingdom, we wish to cooperate with the Americans. But it must — and shall — be cooperation based on the fundamental values of sovereignty and mutual respect between nations and peoples. This is something we take very seriously - Frederiksen emphasized.
Claus Mathisen, an expert from the Royal Danish Defense College, compared the visit of U.S. government representatives to Greenland to the situation in Crimea before the Russian annexation of Ukrainian territory there.
"American politicians will arrive in droves and will attempt to make Greenland American. They promise that (then) everything will be much better," Mathisen wrote on Facebook.
"Calling the trip a private delegation is deceitful"
Retired political science professor from Stockholm University, Drude Dahlerup, asserts that "calling the trip of the American delegation private is deceitful."
"It will be like the visit of the U.S. President's son, Donald Trump Jr., at the beginning of January. It appeared to be just a trip, but later it turned out that everything was organized to show that Greenlanders love Donald Trump", Dahlerup emphasized in the Swedish newspaper "Dagens Nyheter".
The Vice President's wife will watch dog sled races
According to local media, a plane with American security services has already landed in Greenland, and additional police forces have been sent by the authorities in Copenhagen.
The Greenlandic newspaper "Sermitsiaq" revealed on Saturday that Vance's wife will arrive on the island in the middle of next week and will visit Greenland's capital, Nuuk, as well as the town of Sisimiut. In Sisimiut, on March 29, Vance is expected to watch the Avannaata Qimussersua dog sled race, a significant event for Greenlanders' identity. The newspaper claims that the event organizers received a grant from the United States through the U.S. consulate in Nuuk.
