Danish FM welcomes US change of plans for Greenland visit

Denmark’s foreign minister on Wednesday welcomed Washington’s decision to limit a U.S. delegation’s visit to Greenland to a military base, following criticism from Danish and Greenlandic leaders.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance announced Tuesday that he and his wife, Usha, would visit Pituffik Space Base in Greenland on Friday after earlier plans for a broader visit drew sharp opposition.

The Danish self-governing territory has been of strategic interest to President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly expressed his desire to acquire it.

The announcement came just hours after Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland’s outgoing leader, Mute Egede, denounced the original U.S. travel plans, calling them uninvited and inappropriate.

The White House had initially stated that Usha Vance would visit Greenland from Thursday to Saturday, attending cultural events, including Greenland’s national dogsled race in Sisimiut.

Reports also suggested that U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright would join the trip.

Instead, JD and Usha Vance will now only visit Pituffik, where U.S. Space Force personnel are stationed. “We’ll check out what’s going on with the security of Greenland,” the vice president said in a video.

Since returning to power in January, Trump has emphasized Greenland’s importance to U.S. national security and has refused to rule out the use of force to acquire it.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen welcomed the scaled-back trip. “I think it’s very positive that the Americans have canceled their visit to Greenlandic society.

They will only visit their own base, Pituffik, and we have nothing against that,” he told broadcaster DR.

The controversy arose during a politically sensitive time in Greenland, as parties negotiated to form a new coalition government following the March 11 general election.

“The cars from the U.S. advance security detail that arrived a few days ago are being sent back home, and the wife of the U.S. vice president and the national security adviser will not visit Greenlandic society,” Løkke Rasmussen said.

“The matter is being wound up, and that’s positive,” he added.